Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry has had a long and eventful career, of which he is most famous for spending nine seasons with the Toronto Raptors—arguably becoming the franchise's greatest player in the process. Yet Lowry decided in the offseason to take his talents to South Beach, and he has been playing well for the Heat, averaging 12 points, 7.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals throughout the first 17 games of the season.
While Lowry has yet to return to Toronto as a member of the Heat, he has asserted that the city of Toronto remains to be his home. As Marc Spears of theundefeated.com shares:
“Everybody says you could just live in Canada, but you’d have to get a Canadian citizenship to live there. And I don’t think I would’ve lived there for the rest of my life. But I’ll be able to go back. That’s still home. Like I’ve said, and I’ll say it now, I will sign a one-day contract and I’ll retire as a Toronto Raptor. That is my everything.”
These were Lowry's thoughts on his future in the league, and the deep connections he has with the Toronto Raptors, the people of Toronto, and the city itself. However, this does not mean that Lowry is somehow not as dedicated to the Miami Heat and their quest for a title:
“This is my first year here, but it was the situation where I feel like they wanted to move the needle. They wanted to find a way to move the needle and no matter what my age is, I’m still able to move the needle. I’m still playing at a high level. My job is to make everybody else better, to make our team better.”
The notion of Kyle Lowry possibly retiring as a Raptor in the future is certainly the sweetest of news for Raptor fans, and the idea of Lowry guiding the Heat to another championship is a tantalizing prospect for the Heat faithful. Regardless, Heat fans are more than happy to get to deepen their own ties with the veteran Lowry, and Toronto fans are undoubtedly eagerly awaiting the retirement homecoming of the Six's beloved point guard.