Michael Grange of Sportsnet has reported that Kyle Lowry will be signing a one-day contract to retire with the Toronto Raptors, the franchise he spent eight seasons with, setting several franchise records along the way. The former Villanova Wildcat had spent the last two and a half seasons of his playing career for his hometown 76ers. Grange says that a press conference will be held on July 7th in the honor of the 2019 NBA champion.
Lowry was a real contributor when he first joined the Sixers after
the 2024 trade deadline. In the final months of the regular season he played 28 minutes per game averaging 8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists before starting all six of the Sixers postseason games.
He was a part of the rotation at the start of the 2024-25 season. His playing time waned as the season quickly went off the rails, but he would don a coach name tag in games he was out due to injury. He returned for one final season, his 20th on a player option, and made 14 appearances while also doing double duty as an analyst for Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast team. His last game in Toronto was a heartwarming moment as the arena erupted when he checked into the game with just a couple of minutes left on the clock.
Not only did Lowry get to play for his hometown team, but he appeared to be one heck of a mentor for Tyrese Maxey, to hear Maxey tell of it. Now he’ll get one more send off for the team he accomplished so much for.
