(Toronto) Earlier this week, Cliff Lee was trying to decide which Kyle Lowry jersey he would wear in the former No.7’s long-awaited return on Sunday.
Posted yesterday at 2:23 p.m.
Lee has 40 hero jerseys, including the number 3 that Lowry wore when he arrived in 2012 after a trade with Houston (Andrea Bargnani then wore 7).
Lee eventually turned to the red and white “North,” worn in the deciding game of the 2019 Finals, where the Raptors defeated Golden State.
“They weren’t supposed to wear them so often that season. But since it brought them success, they kept wearing that one, Lee said. They are hard to find. »
A realtor, Lee has about 400 Raptors jerseys of all types in his basement at his home in Brampton.
PHOTO COLE BURSTON, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Cliff Lee with his Raptors jerseys
“I don’t let them hang around,” Lee said, smiling.
His wife, Jennifer, became a big fan of the team.
Lowry hasn’t played in Toronto since February 2020, when the pandemic brought NBA operations to a halt, ahead of a relaunch in Florida.
Sunday, when the Miami Heat visit, will be an emotional night for the 36-year-old. It will also be for the city of Toronto where the stubborn and hardworking Lowry, a native of Philadelphia, has forged strong ties over time. The Ontario metropolis has been conquered.
PHOTO MATT KELLEY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kyle Lowry was traded to the Miami Heat last summer.
“He represents a lot of what the Raptors are,” said Lee, a fan from the start (the 1995-96 season).
Kyle was never the fastest or the most athletic, but he worked hard and took things seriously. His mentality was to have no slack until the job was done.
Cliff Lee, partisan des Raptors
A member of six all-star teams, Lowry was traded to Miami last summer after nine seasons with the Raptors. He left a big place to fill on the pitch, but perhaps even more outside the lines.
One day, Lowry surprised dozens of kids from an elementary school in Regent Park, an underprivileged area of Toronto, by taking them on a big shopping spree at ToysRUs.
“With everything going on in the world, having someone like Kyle spreading love is beyond words,” said John Yan, executive director of the Angel Foundation for Learning, one of many charities which Lowry has given a helping hand.
In 2017, the Toronto Catholic District School Board honored Lowry and his wife Ayahna, for the work done through their Lowry Love Foundation.
“We miss him very much,” Yan said.
Second Harvest also benefited greatly. Lowry’s foundation donated hundreds of food baskets, in addition to organizing Thanksgiving meals for families in need.
“The Lowry family has helped raise awareness of the issue of hunger in Canada. It’s a big issue in the country, said Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest. We loved working with them. »
“It was fabulous, this type of event. There is so little chance that these young people will be able to attend a Raptors game, she added. Tickets are so expensive. So just seeing their hero, I think it could have changed the lives of many of these young people. »
In Sunday’s game, Fred VanVleet, whom Lowry has acted as a mentor, could well eclipse a record of the latter.
With 236 3-pointers, VanVleet is three shots away from dethroning Lowry for the Raptors single-season record.
