CALEDON, Ont. \u2014 When it comes to jersey retirements, Kyle Lowry\u2019s was always a full-court breakaway ending in an inevitable slam dunk, metaphorically speaking.<\/p>\n
It was the off-court version of something an earlier generation of Raptors fans got used to seeing in spectacular fashion when Vince Carter was on the floor and in full flight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when it comes to honouring their history and elevating their legends, the path Lowry and Carter took to having their jerseys retired has been as different as their on-court playing style.<\/p>\n
While Carter flew through the air with the greatest of ease, getting his No. 15 retired was an underdog\u2019s journey requiring patience, persistence, toughness and time: roughly analogous to how Lowry\u2019s NBA on-court style enabled him to evolve from journeyman to superstar over his 20 seasons, peaking during his franchise-defining nine seasons in Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, Carter\u2019s No. 15 and Lowry\u2019s No. 7 will hang side by side at the top of Scotiabank Arena, the first and second jerseys, respectively, that the Raptors have honoured in the franchise\u2019s 32-year history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lowry\u2019s jersey retirement ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 10, when the Raptors host LeBron James and Lowry\u2019s hometown Philadelphia 76ers, but his number going up will only be the final act in a celebration that will have run for months by that time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It started with his retirement announcement in Toronto on July 7, when he signed a one-day contract so he could formally end his career as a Toronto Raptor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This weekend marks Stage 2, when Lowry swoops in for 36 hours of festivities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Naturally \u2014 given the former point guard\u2019s off-court passions \u2014 it all started with the KLOW Invitational, a charity golf tournament Lowry was hosting Friday at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, with proceeds benefitting the MLSE Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then there is Kyle\u2019s Block Party \u2014 a free fan event \u2014 slated for Jurassic Park outside Scotiabank Arena on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Saturday evening is A Night For Seven, a gala dinner again in support of the MLSE Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the turnout has been impressive: former teammates Fred Van Vleet, DeMar DeRozan, Serge Ibaka, CJ Miles and Danny Green, along with former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, were teeing it up Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something I didn\u2019t expect and I appreciate it,\u201d said Lowry. \u201cWords can\u2019t describe how I feel about what they\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the details have come together over time, that Lowry was going to retire a Raptor and eventually have his number retired was a foregone conclusion, even dating back to the middle of the 2020-21 season, when the Raptors were playing in Tampa, Fla., due to the pandemic and it appeared that Lowry would be traded to a contender mid-season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lowry said then that wherever and whenever he finished his playing career, his final contract would be signed in Toronto. Given that he left the Raptors as the franchise leader in assists, steals, threes made, wins and playoff wins \u2014 in addition to orchestrating the 2019 championship \u2014 it was always a matter of when, not if.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything in the years since has gone like clockwork, with all sides \u2014 Lowry, the organization and the fans \u2014 waiting for the right time to honour one of the franchise\u2019s favourite sons. Lowry finally retiring this summer after 20 years in the league set everything in motion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And while the way everything has played out so smoothly and seamlessly is a reflection of Lowry\u2019s determination to manage his Raptors departure so carefully, in some ways it\u2019s a reflection of how the franchise has matured and learned from the journey Carter had to take to have his jersey retired.<\/p>\n
Carter, of course, left under entirely different circumstances than Lowry when the then young superstar was infamously traded early in the 2006-07 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was deemed to have quit on the franchise when he blasted off toward stardom, but over time it became apparent that he quite rightly could have argued that the franchise had fumbled its obligations to him as a star player.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Carter never had any ill will toward the city or Raptors fans, the fans \u2014 or a good portion of them \u2014 were hurt by a perceived betrayal, fair or not.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It took the better part of a decade for the feelings on both sides to subside and the groundwork for a restoration of the relationship to take place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe organization was in a far different place when Vince was here,\u201d was how one insider put it. \u201cKyle benefitted from the lessons learned from that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter\u2019s jersey retirement in November 2024 represented the ultimate full-circle moment and was reflected in the raw emotion of the evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the Raptors seem to have figured this stuff out. They may even have a template for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the organization\u2019s just maturing as the years go by,\u201d said Nurse, whose revamped Sixers will be the opponent when the Lowry\u2019s jersey goes up on Jan. 10. \u201cSo you have these occasions and this success to celebrate, right? It\u2019s still a relatively new organization in the grand scheme of things. I was in our practice facility (in Philadelphia) and we have Moses (Malone) and Dr. J up there, and now the Raptors get to start telling some of their stories too.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Lowry\u2019s path to his jersey retirement was considerably different than Carter\u2019s, there are parallels in the way the events themselves have been built out, with multiple public-facing events \u2014 in Carter\u2019s case, the resurfacing of a basketball court that was built by his foundation back in his Raptors heyday and even a signature jet by Air Canada in honour of “Air Canada” himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The process has been intentional, with the franchise wanting to nurture its relationships with its iconic stars to help build culture and tradition internally, but also as a message to the rest of the NBA that the Raptors take care of their players.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlayers talk, agents talk,\u201d said one source. \u201cThey notice things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Who the next Raptor to be honoured by the franchise will be is anyone\u2019s guess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It could be DeMar DeRozan, who remains the Raptors’ all-time leader in scoring and games played and is entering his 18th\u00a0season, now with the Denver Nuggets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope so,\u201d said DeRozan. \u201cThis will always be home for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lowry was far more emphatic: \u201cOh, No. 10 (DeRozan\u2019s number) should definitely go up there. Without a doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Or what about Pascal Siakam, now with the Indiana Pacers, who earned two All-NBA nods as a Raptor, was a starter on their championship team and may be the best development story the team has ever had?<\/p>\n
Neither DeRozan or Siakam left the Raptors by choice and in each case there were, and may still be, hard feelings about how their time in Toronto ended. But the Carter example shows that time can heal even the deepest of wounds, and Lowry\u2019s shows that this is an organization committed to recognizing its own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Leonard\u2019s impact on the Raptors was undeniable as he led Toronto to their lone championship in his one season with the team, it was unlikely that a single season \u2014 no matter how brilliant \u2014 would qualify him for a franchise\u2019s ultimate honour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But if the broad-shouldered guy wearing No. 2 finishes his career as a Raptor, and the next three seasons or so include multiple playoff appearances and maybe a deep run in one of those years?\u00a0<\/p>\n
That would be a different conversation. Leonard certainly seems open to having it. With sources suggesting that one of the reasons he chose to return to Toronto is because of the possibility it could be his forever basketball home, an option not necessarily available to him after things in his previous stops \u2014 San Antonio and especially with the Los Angeles Clippers \u2014 didn\u2019t end particularly well.\u00a0<\/p>\n