Lou Williams Makes the Case for Kyle Lowry as the Best Raptor Ever

Kyle Lowry might be about to hang it up for good. And if he does, one of his old teammates wants to make sure history remembers him correctly.

Lou Williams, who played with Lowry in Toronto back in 2014-15, went on FanDuel TV’s ‘Run It Back’ and dropped a pretty direct take. He said Lowry will go down as the greatest Raptor in franchise history. Not just one of the greats. The greatest.

“He’s gonna go down as the greatest Raptor of all time,” Williams said. “He’s a champion, he was a leader, he was a mentor, he was a great teammate and he was a great basketball player. He gave the city of Toronto everything he had.”

That’s not nothing. Especially coming from a guy who’s seen a lot of basketball and isn’t known for throwing around hyperbole.

The timing of all this is interesting. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet, the Raptors have a press conference scheduled for this coming week with a special guest. Nobody’s officially confirmed anything yet, but the speculation is pretty loud: this is Lowry’s retirement announcement. Lowry himself posted a video on social media that kind of hinted at the same thing, which only added fuel to the fire.

Lowry came to Toronto in a trade before the 2012-13 season. He ended up staying nine years, which is longer than he ever played for any other team. Think about that. Nine years in a league where players move around like it’s musical chairs. He was the engine behind the Raptors turning into a real Eastern Conference threat year after year. And obviously, he was a huge part of that 2019 title run.

All six of his All-Star nods came while he was in a Raptors uniform. That’s not a coincidence. He played the best ball of his life in Toronto. His career averages with the team sit at 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.5 steals, and he shot 42.5% from the field, 37.7% from three and 82.5% from the free-throw line. Solid numbers. But the stats don’t really tell the whole story with Lowry. It was the way he played, the way he competed, the way he got in guys’ faces when they needed it.

Is he the greatest Raptor ever? You could argue it. There’s Vince Carter, who put the franchise on the map. There’s DeMar DeRozan, who bled for that city. There’s Kawhi Leonard, who was there for one season and won a Finals MVP. But Lowry was there for the long haul. He was there for the ugly years and the good years. He was the constant. And he’s got a ring to show for it.

Williams seems pretty convinced. And if this press conference goes the way everyone thinks it will, the conversation about Toronto’s GOAT might be settled pretty quick.