Kyle Lowry’s No. 7 is going right where it belongs: into the rafters.

The Raptors will retire Lowry’s number on Jan. 10th after hosting LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers at Scotiabank Arena. It’s a fitting matchup: Lowry grew up in Philadelphia, played at Villanova and finished his career with the Sixers. Philadelphia’s head coach, Nick Nurse, was also right beside him when Toronto won their first championship.

Lowry already made his own goodbye official on July 7th, signing a one-day contract and retiring as a Raptor. Now, he’ll become just the second player in franchise history to have his number retired, joining Vince Carter.

But this isn’t only about putting a jersey in the rafters.

Lowry wasn’t the most talented player to ever play for Toronto. Carter was more explosive. Kawhi Leonard had a higher peak and delivered one of the greatest playoff runs in NBA history. DeMar DeRozan scored more points in a Raptors uniform.

Still, no player better represents what the Raptors became than Lowry.

Toronto Grew Up With Lowry

It’s hard to explain Lowry’s place in Raptors history by jumping straight to the championship.

Toronto got him from Houston in 2012, back when the franchise still felt like an NBA layover. The Raptors had missed the playoffs in eight of the previous 10 seasons. They’d never won 50 games and had only won one playoff series since joining the league in 1995.

Even Lowry seemed to view Toronto as a temporary stop. His first season ended with 34 wins, and 18 games into his second, the Raptors were 6-12 and getting ready to blow things up. Rudy Gay was traded. Lowry packed two bags because he thought he was headed to the Knicks next.

That trade fell apart, and pretty much everything about Toronto basketball changed after that.

Lowry and DeRozan helped the Raptors finish 48-34 and make the playoffs for the first time in six years. That turned into seven straight postseason appearances. Toronto eventually put together five consecutive 50-win seasons and won nine playoff series with Lowry running the show.

It wasn’t all smooth. The Raptors were swept three times in four years and became the unfortunate face of the “LeBronto” era. Lowry struggled badly during parts of those runs, and he heard every version of the argument that Toronto’s core could dominate the regular season but would never win when it mattered.

But then he stuck around long enough to answer all of it.

Lowry Was The Definition Of Constant

The Raptors eventually decided the Lowry-DeRozan era had run its course. DeRozan was traded for Leonard in 2018 when Nurse took over for Dwane Casey, and Toronto went all-in on winning a championship.

Lowry was the bridge between those two teams.

He’d gone from a difficult, well-traveled guard into the guy who held everything together. He didn’t need to lead Toronto in scoring to control a game. He’d get teammates into the right spots, take a charge, battle a center for a rebound, all while setting up the offense from the point.

The resume's impressive on its own. Lowry made six straight All-Star teams, earned All-NBA Third Team honors in 2016 and finished his Toronto career with 10,540 points. He’s still the franchise leader in assists, steals, three-pointers, and triple-doubles. He's also second in games played and points.

Then the championship gave all of it a little more weight.

Leonard was clearly Toronto’s best player during the 2019 run, but Lowry gave the Finals its lasting image. After the Raptors failed to close things out at home in Game 5, he scored Toronto’s first 11 points in Game 6 against Golden State. He finished with 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and the Raptors won their first championship.

After carrying the weight of every Raptors playoff disappointment for years, Lowry made sure that game started his way.

The Greatest Raptor Isn't The Best Raptor

That’s what makes Lowry’s legacy a little different.

Carter gave the young franchise credibility and made an entire country care about the Raptors. DeRozan stayed when plenty of stars had no problem leaving. Leonard gave Toronto the superstar talent they needed to win a championship. They all have an important part in the team’s history.

Lowry was connected through almost all of it.

He helped turn a directionless team into a regular playoff team, stuck around through the years when regular-season success still wasn’t enough, and stayed after Toronto made the toughest trade in franchise history. When the Raptors finally broke through, he was right there to help finish the job.

And even after he left, Lowry never acted like Toronto was just another stop on his tour. The city gave him a standing ovation in his final game as a Raptor, and he kept his promise to retire with the franchise.

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.

That's ultimately why his number belongs up there.

The jersey won’t be saying Lowry was the most talented player Toronto ever had. It’ll be recognizing that nobody represented the Raptors’ growth better than he did.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com.

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