Sixers Help Kyle Lowry Get His Well-Deserved Send-Off in Toronto

If this is Kyle Lowry's final season in the NBA, the crowd at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena gave him a send-off to remember on Monday.

Lowry never made it onto the floor in Sunday's back-and-forth overtime loss to the Raptors. But on Monday, the Sixers jumped out to a double-digit lead late in the first quarter and never looked back. Although they did allow the Raptors to trim a 30-plus-point lead down to only 15 points late in the game, that wasn't going to stop head coach Nick Nurse from letting Lowry get his well-deserved flowers from the Toronto fans in attendance, particularly with "We want Lowry!" chants ringing out from the crowd.

the chants were heard...

the 2019 NBA champion, @Klow7 🏆 pic.twitter.com/fp1zxam5MA
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 13, 2026

"Our team came out with an extreme focus, and I think that was part of their plan, to make sure I got an opportunity to get in there," Lowry told reporters after the game. "I've got some great teammates and a great coach who understands the moment, who I have a championship with, but it was a good team win for us.

"I got an opportunity to experience probably one of the greatest basketball moments of my personal career."

Lowry spent nine full seasons in Toronto, where he earned six All-Star nods and helped guide them to their first and only championship in franchise history in 2018-19, as Sixers fans are painfully aware. He earned the nickname "G.R.O.A.T."—greatest Raptor of all time—and remains a beloved figure above the border even though he left the Raptors after the 2020-21 season.

The soon-to-be 40-year-old Lowry has played sparingly this season, as Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and Jared McCain have gobbled up a majority of the backcourt minutes. In fact, Monday's game was only Lowry's sixth appearance of the season, and it was his first since Dec. 23. However, head coach Nick Nurse, who overlapped with Lowry for most of his career in Toronto, is well aware of what he means to that fanbase and vice versa.

“I thought they didn’t think I was really going to do it, but I was planning on it there and got a good moment to do it," Nurse told reporters after the game. "It was nice to be able to kind of bring him in on his own there."

If this is Lowry's final trip to Scotiabank Arena, the Raptors made sure it was one he'd never forget.

This is the hallway leading up to the visitors’ locker room at Scotiabank Arena. These screens usually have Scotiabank logos on them. Today, before what could be his final game in Toronto, they’re a tribute to Kyle Lowry. pic.twitter.com/QCqWRxXbe4
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 12, 2026

Sixers teammates appreciate Lowry's impact

While Lowry is in the twilight of his NBA career and is playing sparingly this season, he's still making an impact behind the scenes. In his postgame appearance on NBC Sports Philadelphia, Maxey told Kate Scott how much Lowry has meant to him.

“He’s helped me so much.”@TyreseMaxey on how @Klow7 has helped him become a leader. pic.twitter.com/H7N1Ky4FV9
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 13, 2026

"He's helped me so much, man," Maxey said. "We talk at least five times a day. It started kind of like as soon as he got here, and you know, he just told me, "Listen, man, I'm here for you. Whatever you need me to do, whatever you need from me, I'm here for you every single day. And he's been that way, man. Every single day, no matter when. And it's not just basketball. It's life. My family, his family. It's just like that, man. It's going to be that way forever. That's just real love, and I appreciate him."

Maxey added that the reaction from the crowd when Lowry checked in was "unbelievable," but that he "deserves every bit of that."

"He brought this franchise a title," Maxey said. "What he did for this franchise is bigger than just bringing a title, though. They still play with that same culture, that toughness. I'm just happy for him. I told him I was about to start crying."

Maxey isn't the only one who's been a fan of Lowry's behind-the-scenes impact.

As Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer highlighted Monday, Lowry has effectively become a bridge between the players and the coaching staff. Nurse said Lowry has "talked me off the ledge a couple times" and has helped him gauge whether to push the players harder or give them a day off.

"There's times when I’ll be leaning on him," Nurse said, per Mizell. "He'll get behind me and say [to teammates] … 'This is what it takes.'"

Lowry reiterated that he plans to sign a one-day contract with the Raptors whenever he does retire. But if Maxey's comments on Monday are any indication, it would behoove the Sixers to somehow keep Lowry involved in the organization even after his playing career draws to a close.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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