Kyle Lowry received plenty of recognition during his retirement celebration in Toronto this weekend. The Raptors unveiled a gold Raptor statue wearing his No. 7 jersey. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow gave him the Key to the City, and the franchise confirmed that his number will be retired in January.

But Lowry also used the celebration to make a case for another former Raptors star.

When addressing the crowd at his jersey retirement ceremony, Lowry did not hesitate to declare DeMar DeRozan's No. 10 should eventually join his No. 7 in the Scotiabank Arena rafters.

“Hopefully we’re doing this all over again when that #10 goes up in the rafters,” Lowry said.

“Hopefully we’re doing this all over again when that #10 goes up in the rafters.”

Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan link up. pic.twitter.com/7kQd7v7oNe

— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) September 19, 2026

That should carry plenty of weight with Toronto. Lowry and DeRozan spent six seasons together, becoming the foundation of a Raptors team that went from a playoff regular to a legitimate Eastern Conference contender.

Though DeRozan was not part of the 2019 championship team, that should not erase what he accomplished before that title.

DeRozan helped change what Toronto expected from itself

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DeRozan arrived as the No. 9 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and became Toronto's franchise player after Chris Bosh left in 2010. He stayed when he had opportunities to leave and grew into a four-time All-Star with the Raptors.

More importantly, Toronto started winning.

The Raptors captured five straight Atlantic Division titles from 2013-14 through 2017-18 and won a franchise-record 59 games in DeRozan's final season. He left Toronto as the franchise's all-time leader in points, games played, minutes, and field goals made.

That résumé matters because the argument against retiring DeRozan's jersey usually begins with what happened after he left.
Masai Ujiri traded DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard in 2018. Leonard then helped Toronto win its first championship one year later. It is easy to look at that sequence and conclude that DeRozan was the player Toronto needed to move past.

And that doesn’t tell the whole story.

The Raptors did not suddenly become a championship organization in 2019. DeRozan and Lowry helped establish the standard that made that run possible.

DeRozan gave Toronto stability during a period when the franchise was still trying to establish itself as a destination. And much like Lowry’s argument, DeRozan should listen to his demands on the jersey retirement.