Kyle Lowry: The Greatest Raptor of All Time
TORONTO — Greatest.
It’s a word that usually starts arguments, not block parties. Yet on a brisk Saturday morning in downtown Toronto, roughly 1,500 people crowded into Maple Leaf Square and answered it in unison.
They weren’t there for the franchise’s leading scorer, DeMar DeRozan. Not for the high-flying pioneer, Vince Carter. Not even for Kawhi Leonard, the rental superstar who delivered the city’s only NBA title.
They came for Kyle Lowry. A stocky guard from North Philly who never chased the spotlight, never led the league in anything glamorous, and somehow ended up with a label that now feels undisputed: the greatest Raptor of all time.
A city shows up for No. 7
Maple Leaf Square — Jurassic Park in playoff lore — turned into a living tribute to No. 7. The Raptors called it a Block Party. It felt more like a thank-you note written in concrete, banners, and noise.
Fans shuffled through Lowry-themed exhibits, lingered around a commemorative Raptor statue, and swapped stories about charges taken, loose balls chased, and nights when Lowry dragged a franchise forward by sheer will.
“The longevity, all the moments, and the stats as well, but the stats are only a little part of it,” one fan said, voice catching as they asked to remain anonymous. “From start to finish, everything he brought. I don't want to get too emotional, but ... I think for everyone, it's pretty clear.”
For Kuya Naredo, who won tickets to “A Night For Seven,” the charity gala capping the weekend’s celebrations, the explanation came in one word.
“Community,” he said. “Kyle Lowry is the greatest Raptor of all time because that man is resilient. He did everything he could every day. He led Toronto, he led Canada and he led the Raptors. (Lowry) brought Toronto together, and so we've got to come together for him.”
The proof stood in front of Scotiabank Arena. Again. The same concrete plaza where fans once lived and died with every possession in May and June now served as a monument to the player who helped turn it into a basketball landmark.
“We started this, the whole Jurassic Park thing,” Lowry reminded the crowd, leaning into the mic with a grin. “Everybody wants to have their own little version, but take pride in knowing we were the first to do this.”
The architect of a culture
On stage, one by one, former teammates tried to put Lowry’s impact into words. Most didn’t bother with numbers. They talked about something heavier.
“He’s an architect of the culture that eventually put the team on the mountaintop,” said C.J. Miles, who played in Toronto from 2017 to 2019. “I think someone who is that embedded into a city, an organization, a team, and to be able to give his all to something like that, and it reflects him, I think that's what makes him the greatest Raptors of all time.”
The phrase “best fans in the league” kept surfacing as players cycled through the microphone — from Chuck Hayes and Terrence Ross to Miles, Danny Green and Fred VanVleet. It didn’t sound like flattery. It sounded like testimony.
Green, who shared the 2019 title run with Lowry, didn’t stop at calling him the greatest Raptor.
“(Lowry is) one of the best players to come through our league,” Green said. “For a guy that size to play 20 years, one of the best teammates I've ever had ... I wouldn't miss this for the world.”
Coming from a guard who’s won rings with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Leonard, and later LeBron James, the compliment carried weight. So did his assessment of the city.
Green grouped Toronto with San Antonio as “the top two organizations that take care of the players, look out for the players ... while you're there, the city, the fans, nothing like it. So, again, I can't praise the city or the fans enough about how special they make us feel.”
Only once did the mood briefly turn. Kevin Love, who battled Lowry’s Raptors as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers before later teaming with him in Miami, couldn’t resist poking at old wounds.
“I know this is Kyle's day, but isn't this 'LeBronto?'” Love joked.
The boos came fast. They didn’t last. The tone flipped the moment the man who shared the longest ride with Lowry stepped up.
DeRozan and the finishing touch
DeMar DeRozan, the face of the franchise before the championship era, closed the parade of speakers. His message cut through the nostalgia.
“It means the world to me to be able to be here to celebrate ... the guy who finished this thing off,” DeRozan told the crowd. “He's definitely the greatest Raptor of all time. The things he's been able to do for this city are amazing.”
Lowry listened as his closest running mate and a stream of peers handed him his flowers. The city added its own flourish: Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow presented him with an impromptu key to the city.
“Humbled by it,” Lowry said later.
“When we put this plan together, (a block party) was one of the things I wanted to do to show love to the fans, honestly, because they mean everything. This basketball thing wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for them. It turned out exactly how I thought it would. I appreciate the fans coming out here. I appreciate the Raptors organization for allowing this to happen and putting forth such an amazing effort and making this weekend spectacular.”
VanVleet, who inherited the point guard mantle when Lowry was traded to Miami in 2021 and now plays for the Houston Rockets, watched the day unfold with a sense of professional recognition.
“As a player, you put so much time and sacrifice, blood, sweat, tears into your craft and your game, you play every night, and so to see that paid back now at the end of his career, it's just a special day,” VanVleet said. “This is what sports is about, and we know what he means to this country, and so it's always just nice to see that it is paid back.”
A standard set, and a challenge issued
Lowry, never shy about speaking up for his people, quickly turned the spotlight toward others.
“Hopefully we're doing this again at some point when (DeRozan's) No. 10 is going up in the rafters,” he said. “That 10 has to go up there.”
Green agreed with the broader picture.
“DeMar will have his moment at some point, Kawhi will have his moment, but we're here to celebrate the greatest Raptor of all time and give him his flowers.”
So the fans did exactly that. They chanted “GROAT.” They begged for “one more year.” They held out jerseys, phones, hats, anything for a signature. Each roar seemed to tug Lowry back toward the edge of the stage, buying a few more minutes for photos and autographs.
The comeback plea, though, hit a hard stop.
“Great chant, love it. Not gonna happen,” Lowry said, smirking.
He saved one more message for the people who had just spent hours on cold concrete to say goodbye.
“Continue to be the best fans that you've been. Continue to rule the league in attendance. Continue to be you, unapologetically be you ... and hopefully there's another championship that comes through here, and I can be a part of that celebration with this organization and that group.”
With that, the music faded, the crowd thinned, and the Block Party wrapped. For now.
The next chapter is already circled: Jan. 10, when LeBron James and Lowry's hometown Philadelphia 76ers visit Toronto, and No. 7 rises into the Scotiabank Arena rafters beside Carter’s No. 15.
A pretty good send-off for a player who never chased the title of “greatest” — until the city decided it belonged to him.
