NBA star Kyle Lowry ends 20-season career and retires with Toronto Raptors By Beatriz
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Experienced point guard Kyle Lowry confirmed the end of his professional basketball journey, returning to the Toronto Raptors to retire as a member of the franchise after a two-decade NBA career. The official ceremony took place on Tuesday.
At 40 years old, the player, who wore jersey number 7 for the Canadian team and was a key player in winning the NBA championship in 2019, chose the symbolic date of July 7th to make the formal announcement.
In an emotional message posted on social media on Tuesday, Lowry thanked everyone who was part of his journey. “Thank you to my family, my friends, my teammates, my coaches, my opponents, the team, the media and especially the fans,” he wrote. “Everything is about you. I appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you, Toronto. Thank you, Canada. And as I’ve always told you, it’s officially happening. I’m retiring as a Toronto Raptor — 20 years and 1 day. Seven forever. I love you all. Peace.”
During his nine years with the Raptors, Lowry was selected to the All-Star Game six times, demonstrating his consistency. Throughout his long journey in the league, he also defended the colors of the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets and Miami Heat. In his last three years, he dedicated himself mainly to the Philadelphia 76ers, his home team, and worked as an NBA analyst for Amazon.
Originally from Villanova University, Lowry was selected 24th overall in the 2006 draft by Memphis. In his career, he participated in 1,187 regular season games, maintaining averages of 13.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
The formalization of his retirement included signing a symbolic one-day contract with the Raptors. With this milestone, Lowry joins Chris Paul as one of only two point guards in NBA history to complete 20 seasons on the court. There is an expectation that Mike Conley, recently signed by the Boston Celtics, could become the third to achieve this feat by playing in a game in the 2026-27 season.
