Toronto Raptors legend Kyle Lowry is about to make NBA history

Long before Kyle Lowry became a legend in the eyes of Toronto Raptors fans, he was a young point guard struggling to find his way in the NBA.

On the bench for nearly two-thirds of the games in his first six seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets, Lowry didn't exactly appear like he was set on a trajectory for stardom.

But fast forward 19 years since he was selected by the Rockets in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft, and Lowry is in rarefied air when it comes to his peers.

On Monday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Lowry is returning to the Philadelphia 76ers for his 20th NBA season, signing with the team on a one-year deal.

Free agent guard Kyle Lowry has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Philadelphia 76ers, Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. The 2019 champion is back for his 20th NBA season – and a third consecutive year with his hometown 76ers. pic.twitter.com/6Wnw3S9TT3

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2025

As per TSN's Josh Lewenberg, that makes him one of just 12 players in history to play 20 or more seasons in the NBA, and just the second point guard after Chris Paul to do so.

Kyle Lowry will become the 12th player in NBA history to play 20+ seasons & only the 2nd point guard to ever do it.

Vince Carter
LeBron James
Robert Parish
Kevin Willis
Kevin Garnett
Dirk Nowitzki
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kobe Bryant
Jamal Crawford
Udonis Haslem
Chris Paul
Kyle Lowry

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) July 7, 2025

Where does Lowry rank on Raptors' all-time lists?

Despite playing for the 76ers each of the last two seasons, Lowry still plans to retire with the Raptors on a one-day contract.

"I'm definitely retiring as a Raptor. That's something I've said since I left here. I will sign that one-day contract, and I will retire as a Toronto Raptor. That's just how it's going to be. Unless I die before that," Lowry said in 2023.

Lowry is second on the Raptors' all-time games played (601) and points (10,540) lists, while he's first in assists (4,277), steals (873), and three-pointers (1,518). Meanwhile, he's 19th on the all-time assist list (7,099), 61st on the games played list (1,173), and 123rd on the all-time scoring list (16,536).

If there's any list he's got a chance of making a decent rise up, it's the all-time assist list, as Lenny Wilkens and Terry Porter are less than 200 ahead of him.

Of the 10 players directly in front of him on the all-time scoring list, five remain active — Mike Conley, Klay Thompson, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, and Nikola Vucevic — so he likely won't be climbing that many spots there.