Nick Nurse wants Raptors to put up a Kyle Lowry statue
In a little under three weeks, the Toronto Raptors will honour one of the franchise’s most transcendent players.
On November 2, the Raptors will be retiring Vince Carter’s No. 15 jersey, the first player in team history to get the honour.
But while it’s taken 30 seasons for Toronto to finally retire a number after coming into the league in 1995, many fans are curious if there are future plans to honour the team, including members of the 2019 NBA championship-winning side.
Asked by Leigh Ellis about Carter’s jersey retirement, former Raptors star Kyle Lowry shared his praise for Carter, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend.
“It’s gonna be a phenomenal special night,” Lowry said. “He’s deserving of having his jersey retired, just because of what he’s meant to the franchise. If I go up there, and hopefully one day it happens, it’d be a very emotional fun night, but we’ll see when, or if, that time comes.”
With the Raptors retiring Vince’s number, I asked the Groat if he thinks he might be next pic.twitter.com/VePpe459an
— Leigh Ellis (@LeighEllis) October 15, 2024
For Lowry, there shouldn’t be any question as to whether Toronto will one day hang his No. 7 from the rafters.
“They’ll all come. They’ve got to stop playing first. Those guys, they’re all legends here, they’re all well appreciated in the city, in the country, in the organization… all those will come,” Ujiri said in September in response to a question asked by Daily Hive about potential future jersey retirements.
Ellis added that he asked former Raptors coach Nick Nurse about Lowry’s legacy and how the team should honour him. One-upping the jersey retirement, Nurse suggested there should be a statue outside of Scotiabank Arena of Lowry taking a charge, one of the signature staples of his game.
“Listen, I know it was a game-winning charge,” Lowry said with a laugh. “If it goes up, I’d be happy to say I did something for a place that I call my home.”
Nurse is now in his second season with the Philadelphia 76ers, with Lowry joining him midway through last year. The pair will visit the Raptors on October 25, with tipoff set for 7 pm ET.