The Toronto Raptors have one NBA championship and one retired number in franchise history, though there almost certainly will be more of the latter coming in the near future.
But the man whose jersey already hangs in the rafters at Scotiabank Arena doesn’t necessarily agree that the player who brought Toronto its lone title is worthy of that honour.
During a recent interview with GQ, Raptors greats Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter — whose No. 15 was retired by the team in 2024 — were asked who should be next.
“Kyle Lowry seems to be the next in line for that honor. Are there any other Raptors who you feel are deserving?” GQ’s Yang-Yi Goh asked the duo, before pitching Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan as potential honourees.
McGrady was quick to cut him off.
“Kawhi?” he said, while Carter said, “possibly DeMar.”
“Kawhi??” McGrady responded a second time.
Goh reasoned that Kawhi’s championship year in Toronto “was a big season, right?”
“One season! No, no. Thank you, Kawhi, but it wasn’t even a full season,” McGrady said.
“It’s crazy to hear the story about him not wanting to go there and still having a magical season, and he deserves to be recognized somehow,” Carter added.
“But I just feel like DeMar deserves to be up there before that, because of the groundwork he put in prior to that.”
Will Lowry have his number retired?
Lowry is likely to be the next former Raptor to see his jersey raised to the rafters. The six-time all-star point guard, who also played a key role in helping the team win the 2019 NBA title, recently wrapped up his 20th NBA season when his hometown Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round by the New York Knicks.
Lowry often is referred to as the “GROAT” or Greatest Raptor Of All Time after spending nine seasons in Toronto.
During his time with the Raptors, Lowry averaged 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game.
Earlier this year, during his final visit to Toronto as a player, Lowry also committed to signing one-day contract to retire with Raptors.
Nothing official has been announced on that front as of yet, though.
How much have the Raptors changed over the years?
During their interview with GQ, Carter and McGrady also revealed how much the franchise has changed since their time with Canada’s lone NBA team.
“I mean, we’re talking 20-something years later, times are way different now than it was back then,” McGrady said. “The sell back then was, the people in Toronto are nice and it’s a great organization, how they treated us.
“But now, I mean, you got Drake involved. You got the infrastructure that’s been built downtown … My first year, we were driving like 30 minutes, 40 minutes outside the city to go to Scarborough for practice, because our practice facility wasn’t built yet.”