Toronto Just Declared April 3 'Kyle Lowry Day' & The Love Is So Real

Let's go, Raptors! To celebrate basketball player Kyle Lowry's contributions to the city, its culture and, of course, the Raptors, Toronto Mayor John Tory has proclaimed that April 3, 2022, is officially Kyle Lowry Day in the city.

If you're not familiar, Lowry played for the Toronto Raptors from 2012 to 2021 and is largely considered by fans to be one of the best players the team has ever seen.

This was especially true after he helped lead the team to its first-ever NBA Championship win in 2019.

April 3 marks his first return to the city since being traded to the Miami Heat in August 2021, and he'll be going up against the Raps on the team's home court.

Because of this quasi-homecoming, John Tory declared the new honorary day on Sunday.

"Kyle Lowry is one of the greatest Raptors players of all time and has proven over his career in Toronto that he will always be a champion of our great city," the mayor wrote in the declaration.

"Thank you, Kyle Lowry for the joy and pride you brought during your time as a Toronto Raptor," the statement continues. "Toronto will always welcome you."

It seems the city's love for Lowry is not unrequited, either. The Philadelphia-born player professed his love for Toronto in a recent Players' Tribune article called "For My Toronto Family."

In the article, he wrote about his love for his former teammates, Raptors President Masai Ujiri and the city of Toronto.

He said, "It's never going to be a wrap between me and this city."

Leading up to the game, he posted a photo of himself wearing his 2019 championship jacket, followed by a blank screen that simply said "HOME," with two Canada flag emojis, on his Instagram story.

While Lowry will be competing against his former team on April 3, there will probably still be a lot of love for the former Toronto Raptor in Scotiabank Arena!

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.