Kyle Lowry, who spent nine of his 20 NBA seasons in Toronto, signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Raptors and then announced his retirement in a ceremony at OVO Athletic Centre, the team’s practice facility.
The Canadian Press
As the player who helped design the team’s 2019 NBA championship ring, there was something fitting about Kyle Lowry’s career coming full circle on Tuesday, signing a one-day contract to retire as a Toronto Raptor.
While the six-time all-star’s tenure will be officially feted next season when his No. 7 shirt is retired to the rafters at Scotiabank Arena alongside the team’s championship banner, Tuesday’s news conference was a time for Lowry to reflect on his nine seasons in Toronto from 2012 to 2021.
“I always said that I would retire a Toronto Raptor, and that was everything,” he said. “This place is, I call it home, I mean it through and through.”
“Everything about the city of Toronto, the country of Canada, it’s done special wonders for me.”
Los Angeles Clippers player Kawhi Leonard – the MVP of the 2019 playoffs – was in attendance, while reportedly negotiating a contract extension with the Raptors after being reportedly traded back to the team last week. So was businessman Larry Tanenbaum, who officially sold his remaining stake in team owner Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment on Monday. And Vince Carter, the only other player to have his number retired by the Raptors, interrupted the proceedings with a FaceTime call to Lowry.
Kyle Lowry, right, speaks with Kawhi Leonard after a press conference in which Lowry signed a one-day contract to retire as a Toronto Raptor, in Toronto, on Tuesday.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
“I had to cut you off,” Carter told Lowry, who was in the process of answering a question. “Congratulations, man.”
Between the offerings of praise and love, Lowry tried to contemplate his legacy in this city and country.
He wasn’t short of reminders on Tuesday. From the team’s practice facility locker room, where each locker was decked out commemorating one of his nine seasons in Toronto, to the 30-metre video board that ran the length of the practice court behind him featuring a collage of newspaper headlines and photos, the moments that mattered were in abundance.
Raptors general manager Bobby Webster recalled the transformative effect of a player he called “the greatest Raptor of all time.”
He noted that the franchise had had zero 50-win seasons before the team traded for Lowry in 2012, before notching five during his tenure. Toronto had also only ever won a solitary playoff series before the Philadelphia native arrived and won nine with No. 7 in the heart of the lineup, culminating in the 2019 title.
Individually, Lowry became the Raptors’ all-time leader in assists (4,277), steals (873), and three-pointers made (1,518). He also ranks second in team history in points scored (10,540) and games played (601), while sitting fourth all-time in rebounds (2,954).
But the player’s legacy is about more than just the numbers for Webster.
“I think, watching him play basketball stirred everybody’s heart,” Webster said. “I think he played a brand of basketball that very few in the NBA have matched. Every possession for him was life and death.”
As someone born and raised in North Philadelphia, Lowry explained the fit he felt in a “hockey town” like Toronto, where people find connection through an athlete’s hard work on the court.
“It’s not the warmest place,” he said of the city’s climate. “You all still get up and go to work every single day. These people go to work every day in the cold weather, and it’s just about the determination to get the job done.”
He also explained the love he felt playing for the only NBA franchise to represent an entire country, adding that that shaped how he felt, knowing that wherever he went from coast to coast to coast, he was representing Canada’s team.
“You’re not just playing for Toronto,” he said. “You’re playing for Halifax, Calgary, B.C., you’re playing for across the whole country, and who you are doesn’t just show up in one place, it shows up in every place, [there are] fans everywhere.”
In retirement, Lowry said he expects to spend a lot more time with his family, which includes his wife, Ayahna, and two sons, Kameron and Karter, who he says will be “Ubering around.”
Lowry and his wife will also be joining the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s WNBA team, for which Tanenbaum is the majority owner.