24 Hours And A Handshake: Kyle Lowry Comes Home

Co-authored by Gowling WLG summer law student Daniela Leite.

In a league defined by trades, free agency, and cold business decisions, the one-day contract is the rare moment where sentiment gets the last word. This week, Kyle Lowry will sign one with the Toronto Raptors, officially retiring as the player most fans consider the greatest in franchise history. Over nine seasons, Lowry racked up more assists, three-pointers, and steals than any Raptor ever has, earned six consecutive All-Star selections, and helped deliver the city its only NBA championship in 2019. His No. 7 will be retired during the upcoming season, hanging alongside Vince Carter's No. 15, which went up in November 2024. Two very different Raptors stories, side by side in the rafters: Carter, who left town acrimoniously and spent years being booed before an emotional reconciliation, and Lowry, who never stopped calling Toronto home even after stops in Miami and Philadelphia. The timing is hard to ignore, too, as the