Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry is making his return to Toronto on Sunday night in the Heat’s matchup with the Toronto Raptors, and Toronto mayor John Tory declared today a special day for the city.
Tory proclaimed April 3 as “Kyle Lowry Day” in a post on his Twitter page.
“On behalf of the council and the people of the city of Toronto, I’m very happy to declare Sunday, April 3 Kyle Lowry Day in the city of Toronto,” Tory said. “We know what a great player he was, a great leader of this team, led us to an NBA championship.”
Tory also commended Lowry for his work off the court, calling him “remarkable” and “such a contributor” to the city of Toronto.
“He was also a leader in our fight as a city against anti-Black racism,” Tory said of Lowry. “So, for all of that, we thank him. We love him. We will always love him.”
Lowry had the best stretch of his career in Toronto, making the All-Star team in six consecutive seasons from the 2014-15 campaign through the 2019-20 season. He also helped lead the team to an NBA Finals victory alongside Kawhi Leonard in the 2018-19 season.
This past offseason, Lowry decided to leave Toronto in a sign-and-trade deal that brought him to Miami. He has immediately become an impact player for the Heat, and Lowry is a major reason why Miami is the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference entering Sunday’s matchup.
Lowry has appeared in 61 games for the Heat and is playing 33.9 minutes per game this season. The veteran guard is averaging 13.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from beyond the arc in the 2021-22 campaign.
The Heat and Lowry will look to pick up a win in his special return to Toronto.