Kyle Lowry will sign a one-day contract to retire with the Toronto Raptors, giving him a formal ending with the franchise where he spent eight seasons and set several franchise records. A press conference is scheduled for July 7, turning the move into a public step rather than a quiet paperwork stop.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet reported the plan, and the timing matters because Lowry’s final years came with another team, not Toronto. He spent the last two and a half seasons of his playing career with the Philadelphia 76ers, then returned for a 20th season on a player option and made 14 appearances in 2024-25.
Toronto Raptors end point
That path brings him back to the place most tied to his legacy. Lowry played eight seasons with the Raptors, won the 2019 NBA champion label with the franchise, and left behind several records that still define his Toronto run.
His last game in Toronto also carried the kind of ending teams usually try to manufacture. The arena erupted when he checked into the game with a couple of minutes left on the clock, a final home moment that now leads into the formal retirement plan.
Philadelphia 76ers closing stretch
Lowry’s final stretch with the Philadelphia 76ers was small in volume but heavy on usage. After the 2024 trade deadline, he averaged 8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in the final months of the regular season while playing 28 minutes per game.
He then started all six of the Philadelphia 76ers’ postseason games. That workload shows why the retirement news lands now with some weight: Lowry kept playing into a 20th season, worked as an analyst for Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast team, and still finished with Toronto as the franchise that will handle the last formal chapter.
For Toronto, the one-day contract is the bridge between the player who arrived, the player who left, and the career that comes after. The July 7 press conference is the next public checkpoint, and it should answer the one thing this move is built to settle: how the final line of Lowry’s career will be drawn.
