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'They’ve been supportive of me in my career and a lot of the things I accomplished in my career was in front of these fans and that’s why this place is so special to me.'
Published Jan 13, 2026 • 3 minute read
Philadelphia 76ers guard Kyle Lowry acknowledges the fans as he's brought in during the final minutes of Monday's game against the Toronto Raptors.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Kyle Lowry acknowledges the fans as he's brought in during the final minutes of Monday's game against the Toronto Raptors. The Canadian Press
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Kyle Lowry will be back in Toronto, there’s no doubt about that. Just not likely as an active player.
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Which is why it felt fitting that he was able to play briefly during Monday’s game between his Philadelphia 76ers and the franchise he will always be connected to.
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The prior day was one Lowry would probably rather forget — the Sixers blew it and lost to the Raptors and his beloved Philadelphia Eagles fell in the NFL playoffs — but he’ll always remember Monday.
Raptors fans had been eager to see Lowry take the court after he didn’t play Sunday and Nick Nurse eventually obliged with the Sixers ahead by 16 with just under two minutes remaining.
As the crowd demanded its iconic point guard, yelling “We want Lowry” repeatedly, Nurse — who won the NBA title as Lowry’s coach in Toronto — could wait no longer.
The call came to Lowry and the veteran, now more of a coach and mentor than a player in his 20th season, popped up to the delight of his teammates and the crowd, threw off his warmup gear and took to the court.
What did Lowry say?
“One of the greatest basketball moments of my personal career,” Lowry told reporters afterward.
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“One of the greatest basketball moments of my career.”
Kyle Lowry checked into the game last night to ROARING applause from the Toronto faithful 👏 pic.twitter.com/GSbLzKaQWf
— NBA (@NBA) January 13, 2026
“I had Trendon Watford next to me sitting on the bench and he was like ‘Come on, Kyle. You gotta go in. Go in. Give them what they’re waiting for.’ and it’s cool to have teammates like that and to listen to the fans, and that’s why I always say, these are the greatest fans in the world to me,” Lowry said.
“They’ve been supportive of me in my career and a lot of the things I accomplished in my career was in front of these fans and that’s why this place is so special to me.
“I think they appreciated who I was and how hard I played,” Lowry added.
“I think once I committed that I was here for the long-term, I think they got behind me. Me and DeMar (DeRozan) committed to building something special. I think the fans (decided), ‘they’re our guys.’”
Nurse could only chuckle afterward about the ‘will he, won’t he’ aspect of the situation.
“I don’t think so,” Nurse said when asked if he ever has made a more popular substitution. “I thought (the fans) didn’t really think I was going to do it, but I was planning on it there and got a good moment to do it. It was nice to kind of bring him in on his own there.”
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Nurse even called a play for Lowry, but it didn’t fall, nor did two other three-point attempts.
No matter.
“It’s certainly nice that opportunity presented itself,” Nurse said.
“Tremendous fans here, cool to see that ovation, just that experience was pretty neat. A lot of neat ones up here and that was another one.”
Lowry’s history with Raptors
Lowry spent nine seasons with the Raptors and is the franchise leader in many categories. His mix of heart and determination with rugged defence, a deadly outside shot, playmaking ability and competitiveness drove the Raptors franchise to new heights.
“Competitor, winner, playing always with grit, always about the right things and, when I say right things, that means winning,” current Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said of Lowry. “He brought that mentality to Toronto. He hit a great stretch over here and he’s one of the best players to play for this organization. It’s great to see that he’s getting all (that) support and love here.”
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Read More
[Former Raptors star Kyle Lowry wore an Auston Matthews Toronto Maple Leafs jersey to Sunday's game.
Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews loved Kyle Lowry's outfit choice](https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/auston-matthews-loved-kyle-lowry-jersey)
2. [Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry celerates during the 2019 Toronto Raptors Championship parade.
In appreciation of one-of-a-kind Raptor Kyle Lowry](https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/nba/toronto-raptors/an-appreciation-of-one-of-a-kind-raptor-kyle-lowry)
When the game ended, Lowry stuck to a familiar script. He scooped up the basketball, just as he did on the most memorable night in Raptors history in Oakland and as he did when Team USA won an Olympic gold medal in Rio.
“It was special. It’s possibly the last game I ever play here. It just happened to be a great opportunity to have that basketball,” Lowry said.
Teammate Tyrese Maxey, who is now second all-time in scoring at Toronto averaging 28.9 points per game, said he told Lowry the Sixers would do “whatever we gotta do” to get him into the game.
“He’s a legend, man,” Maxey said. “He’s legendary. You can only dream of moments like that and what he’s done for this organization, what he’s done for this franchise, it’s bigger than just basketball. It’s a whole country.”
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