Kyle Lowry to sign 1-day contract and retire as a Raptor after 20 NBA seasons
Kyle Lowry to sign 1-day contract and retire as a Raptor after 20 NBA seasons
Sean LeahyTue, July 7, 2026 at 1:04 PM UTC
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Kyle Lowry has officially announced his retirement after a 20-year NBA career.
The 40-year-old Lowry will sign a one-day contract on Tuesday and retire as a member of the Toronto Raptors, where he had the greatest moments of his career.
Sportsnet reported Thursday that this is how Lowry's final days in the NBA would go, but Lowry took to Instagram to refute the report and insist he would announce his retirement on his own terms.
"Wait for the word to come from me, not someone else!!! Smh"
Tuesday was that day as the Raptors posted a pair of videos of Lowry discussing his retirement and his career.
What was also reported was that the franchise will likely retire Lowry's No. 7 at some point during the 2026-27 NBA season. Lowry would become just the second Raptor after Vince Carter to receive the honor.
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Lowry played nine of his 20 seasons in Toronto, a tenure that saw him earn six All-Star nods and help lead the franchise to its first NBA championship in 2018-19. His retirement comes just as one of his co-stars on that championship team, Kawhi Leonard, returns to Toronto via trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.
He is only the 12th player in NBA history to reach 20 seasons in the league.
Lowry took a long path to NBA stardom, developing from a decent bench player on the Memphis Grizzlies to a starter on the Houston Rockets and finally a standout with the Raptors, who acquired him via trade in 2012. He is Toronto's all-time leader in a number of stats, including assists, steals and 3-pointers.
That tenure ended when Lowry joined the Miami Heat via a three-year, $85 million sign-and-trade. He would go on to play two seasons with his hometown Philadelphia 76ers before this offseason.
Source: “AOL Sports”
