LeBron James Pays Tribute to Kyle Lowry as Raptors Honor Him in Special Ceremony

Earlier this summer, Kyle Lowry announced his retirement from the NBA. He signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the Toronto Raptors in July to conclude a decorated NBA career with the team that made him a star over his nine-year stint with them, and fellow legend LeBron James was all for the Raptors' weekend tribute to Lowry.

On Sunday, James took to social media to commemorate Lowry's career. The four-time NBA champion reposted a collaborative post between the Raptors and Lowry on his Instagram stories and captioned it with a bunch of raising-hand and bouquet emojis to signify his excitement for Lowry's retirement.

The Instagram post was about Lowry's retirement campaign, and the photos were from "A Night for Seven," a gala on Sep. 19 featuring entertainment and fundraising for the MLSE Foundation, while honoring the Raptors legend.

The retirement campaign also included the KLow Invitational charity golf tournament that took place on Sep. 18 and Kyle's Block Party, which was a massive, free daytime celebration held at Maple Leaf Square to honor Lowry's nine-season legacy with the Raptors.

During the block party, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow presented Lowry with the Key to the City, the city's highest civic honor. The Raptors also presented him with a commemorative Raptors statue to honor his contributions to the team.

The only other event we're waiting on is his jersey retirement. The Raptors are set to raise his jersey No. 7 to the rafters on Jan. 10, 2027. It is truly a well-deserved moment for the 2019 NBA champion and six-time All-Star.

Kyle Lowry's Former Teammate Looks Back at First Time Teaming Up

While Kyle Lowry was officially dubbed the greatest Toronto Raptor of all time by the franchise itself, he had one teammate who was pivotal in their pursuit of the first championship and, in a way, helped him earn that moniker. That player is DeMar DeRozan.

DeRozan started his career with the Raptors in 2009. It wasn't until 2012 that DeMar and Kyle became teammates in Toronto. In their time together until 2018, DeRozan and Lowry helped the Raptors become solid contenders in the Eastern Conference. However, it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows for the two stars.

During Lowry's open invitational charity golf tournament on Sep. 18, DeRozan shared his initial thoughts on Lowry when he first joined the Raptors in the 2012-13 season.

"I've said it many times, I hated Kyle," DeRozan told sports writer Marley Dickinson. "You know, I couldn't stand him. He was an acquired taste, a very unique individual. But once you learned and understood him, you'd understand why he was the way he was. I wouldn't trade him for the world."

Sadly, DeRozan wasn't able to share the championship glory with Lowry when the Raptors won the NBA title in 2019. Before the season, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard, who turned out to be key to Toronto's first championship.