An NBA All-Star Game is usually the one night when nobody wants to take a charge. Kyle Lowry had other ideas. In the final minutes, Lowry threw himself in front of two drives during the new Elam Ending format, including one against James Harden, turning an exhibition into something that felt much closer to a playoff game.
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Raptors coach Nick Nurse, who was coaching Team Giannis that night, later said, “It felt like the end of a playoff game, which was really cool.” That competitive edge became one of the defining parts of Lowry’s career in Toronto. It also helps explain why LeBron James’ reaction to his former playoff rival’s retirement carries more weight than six emojis might suggest.
Lowry announced his retirement in July and looked ahead to January 10, when the Raptors will raise his No. 7 to the rafters at Scotiabank Arena. “It’s K-Lo here. Hey, January 10th is gonna be a special night for me and you. I can’t wait to celebrate that day. Number seven is going to the rafters. It’s been a long time coming.” LeBron responded to Lowry’s message on his Instagram Story with 🙌🙌🙌👏👏👏.
The reaction makes more sense when you look at what came before it. Lowry and LeBron spent three straight postseasons battling each other, with Cleveland eliminating Toronto in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
After the first of those losses, Lowry told LeBron, “You a bad motherf***er,” before adding, “I’ve always had mutual respect for LeBron. We have a good relationship.” LeBron had his own praise for Lowry and DeMar DeRozan that night: “What those two guys [Lowry and DeRozan] have done for this franchise and this city and this fan base is nothing short of amazing… They were spectacular. They were great.”
But why would a jersey-retirement night in Toronto be a special night for Lowry and LeBron? The answer goes back to some of the hardest years of Lowry’s career. Cleveland beat Toronto in six games in the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals, swept the Raptors in 2017 and did it again in 2018. Toronto could build a strong regular season, but when the postseason brought LeBron’s Cavaliers back into its path, the Raptors could not get through.
The first of those losses was especially revealing. Lowry scored 35 points in Game 6 in Toronto, but the Raptors’ season still ended with Cleveland’s 113-87 win. Instead of avoiding LeBron afterward, Lowry walked over to him, congratulated him and told him to go win the championship.
A year later, the gap was even clearer. Cleveland swept Toronto, and Lowry played only two games after spraining his left ankle. After the series, one line from Lowry quickly spread: “They’ve got LeBron James and nobody’s closing the gap on him.”
But that wasn’t the whole point Lowry was making. Before the next playoffs, he pushed back on how the quote had been presented and explained what he had said immediately afterward: “But that’s basketball. You’ve got to find a way to beat the best… We’re not afraid of him. We’ve got to be a better team and figure out how to beat him and beat every other team.”
Toronto still couldn’t solve the problem.
In 2018, the Raptors won 59 games and entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. Cleveland swept them anyway. LeBron’s running, one-handed bank shot at the buzzer in Game 3 became another reminder of how little the regular-season success mattered when the Cavaliers arrived.
The loss helped trigger major changes in Toronto. Dwane Casey was fired, and DeMar DeRozan was traded that summer. For Lowry, the team he had spent years building was suddenly being taken apart.
The breakup hurt even more because DeRozan was not just Lowry’s teammate. The two had built Toronto’s most successful era together. When Masai Ujiri traded DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard in July 2018, Lowry was deeply hurt and initially avoided calls from the front office.
But once training camp arrived, Lowry made the choice that changed his legacy. He focused on building a championship team with Leonard and first-year head coach Nick Nurse.
After three straight playoff losses to LeBron, Lowry finally had a different problem to solve: could he lead Toronto past everyone else?
The answer came one year later.
Toronto reached the 2019 NBA Finals and took a 3-1 series lead over the Golden State Warriors. In Game 6, with the championship sitting 48 minutes away, Lowry made sure there would be no second chance needed.
He scored Toronto’s first 11 points, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers before adding a driving layup and a transition pull-up three. He finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals in 42 minutes as the Raptors won 114-110 and captured the first championship in franchise history.
“Words can’t describe how I feel right now. It’s been a long time coming… I’ve been working hard for this my whole life,” Lowry said.
Nurse saw exactly what Lowry had done to start the night: “He was spectacular tonight. Scoring those first 11 points, he just set a tone that we were here to win the game.”
That title changed what Lowry’s Toronto story meant. But the numbers show just how much of the franchise he had already become.
Lowry spent nine seasons in Toronto, making six All-Star teams and helping the Raptors reach the playoffs seven straight times. He finished second in franchise scoring with 10,273 points, behind only DeMar DeRozan.
But Lowry owns Toronto’s all-time records for assists with 4,277, steals with 873, three-pointers with 1,518 and triple-doubles with 16.
Those numbers explain the case for retiring No. 7. But they don’t fully explain why Lowry became so important to Toronto.
He became known for the things that don’t always show up in a box score: taking charges, diving for loose balls, playing through contact and setting the tone for his teammates. He also embraced Toronto away from the court, including annual holiday shopping events for local children.
And Toronto got a reminder of just how much Lowry still meant to the city before his retirement was even announced.
On January 17, 2026, Lowry returned to Scotiabank Arena as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. With 1:57 left in the fourth quarter, he checked into the game and received a standing ovation from Raptors fans, who began chanting, “We want Lowry!”
Lowry later said, “I got an opportunity to experience probably one of the greatest basketball moments of my personal career.”
LeBron saw the moment too. He shared the footage on Instagram with a simple message: “Rightfully So!!!!!!!!”
It was another sign that the rivalry years had long since given way to something else.
Lowry finished his NBA career with his hometown 76ers, but he had already made clear how he wanted it to end.
In July 2026, Lowry signed a ceremonial one-day contract with Toronto and officially retired as a Raptor. His message was short: “20 years and one day. Seven forever.”
The Raptors made the next part official on August 27. Lowry’s No. 7 will be raised to the rafters after Toronto’s January 10, 2027, game against Philadelphia at Scotiabank Arena.
And that opponent makes the night far more fitting than it first appears.
Philadelphia is where Lowry was born and raised. He attended Cardinal Dougherty High School in North Philadelphia before spending two seasons at Villanova from 2004 to 2006. It was also where he finished his NBA career with the 76ers.
The other side of the court will bring another piece of Lowry’s story with it. Nick Nurse, the coach who led him to Toronto’s 2019 championship, is now Philadelphia’s head coach.
So when Lowry’s No. 7 goes up in Toronto, his hometown will be represented on the opposite side of the floor, his championship coach will be on the visiting bench and the franchise he called home for nine seasons will be the one honoring him.
For Lowry, though, there is one connection that matters most: Toronto.
“I’ve been looking forward to this moment for years. I always said that Toronto is home, and that I’d retire a Raptor, and to see my No. 7 go up in that building is going to mean everything to me. We built something special here — my teammates, the organization, the city and the fans, and all of Canada. We became champions together, and to be able to share this night with all of them, and with my family, is going to mean a lot to me.”
Toronto will celebrate Lowry across three home games. Fans attending the January 7 matchup with Minnesota will receive a collectible Lowry T-shirt, while those at the January 8 game against Utah will receive a limited-edition Lowry bobblehead. The celebration will end January 10, when the Raptors host Philadelphia and officially raise No. 7 to the rafters.
Lowry will become only the second player in Raptors history to have his jersey retired, joining Vince Carter’s No. 15.
LeBron’s reaction to Lowry’s retirement was only a few emojis. But after everything that came before them the playoff battles, the respect, the championship and the years that followed they said plenty.
Now No. 7 gets its place in Toronto’s history.