{"id":405818,"date":"2026-01-13T03:45:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T03:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/405818\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T03:45:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T03:45:10","slug":"lowry-embracing-role-with-76ers-but-promises-a-one-day-raptors-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/405818\/","title":{"rendered":"Lowry embracing role with 76ers but promises a one-day Raptors return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Philadelphia 76ers’ Kyle Lowry, left, talks things over with Jared McCain, right, during an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo\/Chris Szagola)Chris Szagola\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

A few years ago Kyle Lowry told reporters he would never accept a role as a bench warmer or an unofficial coach just to reach his 20th NBA season.<\/p>\n

Well, allegedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d said Lowry, cursing for emphasis. \u201cI lied.\u201d<\/p>\n

After taking a moment for the reporters\u2019 laughter to die down, the 39-year-old Philadelphia 76ers point guard \u2013 who is averaging 8.5 minutes of play over five games this season \u2013 explained what\u2019s changed for him and what drove him to play one more NBA season, even in a diminished role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in the game of basketball, you\u2019ve got to be able to take yourself out of it sometimes, and be able to say, \u2019OK, how can I pay it forward a little bit?\u2019 said Lowry on Sunday, sitting in his stall in the visitors\u2019 locker room at Scotiabank Arena. \u201cI\u2019ve always been the guy that wanted to pay it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lowry was selected 24th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2006 NBA Draft, playing there for three seasons before being traded to the Houston Rockets in February, 2009. After four seasons in Houston, he was sent to the Toronto Raptors during the 2012 off-season.<\/p>\n

It was the best fit of his career and Lowry spent nine seasons in Toronto, helping the Raptors win their only NBA championship in 2019. <\/p>\n

He was sent to the Miami Heat in 2021, helping that team reach the 2023 NBA finals. In 2024, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets \u2013 although he never played for them \u2013 before joining his hometown Sixers via a contract buyout.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse, who coached the Raptors to their NBA title with Lowry at the point, said that the veteran has been great as a mentor on and off the court for the 76ers this season.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, left, talks with Kyle Lowry, right, during a game against the Toronto Raptors earlier this season in Philadelphia.Chris Szagola\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a bunch of young guards, who, obviously, he\u2019s been able to help,\u201d said Nurse on Sunday before Philadelphia lost to Toronto 116-115 in overtime. \u201cHe really wanted to make it to his 20th season. I think that\u2019s quite a milestone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lowry is averaging 1.2 points, 1.4 assists and 0.6 rebounds per game this season, well below his career averages of 13.9 points, six assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. Nurse said the six-time all-star brings a lot more to the court than just statistics, however, calling him one of the three hardest-working players he\u2019s ever coached.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to have somebody that\u2019s won a lot that knows what\u2019s good for the team, what isn\u2019t,\u201d said Nurse. \u201cThere\u2019s times when I\u2019ll be leaning on them and he\u2019ll be behind me and say, \u2019Hey, you know, he needs to lean on us right now. This is what it takes,\u2019 and things like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only the mentorship of the young guys, but a good veteran presence, kind of a conduit to the coaching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lowry, who was laughing and joking with Toronto media throughout his pre-game availability, said he was enjoying his new role.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been stress free. It\u2019s been fun. The thing about being in this type of role is it\u2019s a challenge,\u201d said Lowry. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to find ways to challenge yourselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge for me is to help these guys every single day, be into the game plan, understanding the game plan, understanding what we want to do as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

As much as Lowry is enjoying what is potentially his final NBA season, he confirmed there is one more team he\u2019d like to sign with before officially retiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal and I\u2019ve committed to this and I never go from what I say, I will sign a one-day contract and retire as a Raptor,\u201d said Lowry. \u201cThat has not changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nurse said he hoped to sub Lowry in against the Raptors on Monday night when the two teams complete their back-to-back at Scotiabank Arena so that Toronto fans can see him play one last time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Philadelphia 76ers’ Kyle Lowry, left, talks things over with Jared McCain, right, during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,459,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,82,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-405818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-nba","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}