It looks like the Toronto basketball faithful will have to wait for a while, as their former franchise player Kyle Lowry won’t be suiting up a black and white uniform in the Miami Heat’s upcoming game against the visiting Toronto Raptors. 

Per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, the star point guard is out on his team’s Monday duel against the Raptors due to personal reasons.

Lowry was the beloved leader of the Raptors hub from the previous years through the ups and downs. He spent nine seasons with the franchise, appearing in six All-star games representing it, and was one of the main components of their memorable championship run in 2019. Last November, Lowry detailed in an interview with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he won’t hide his emotions upon returning to the place where he started his blossoming as one of the league’s premier floor generals. 

“I’m a man’s man, but I know I’m going to be a little bit sensitive and crying that day. I don’t know. I might hold it in,” Lowry told The Undefeated. “I’ve talked to [former Raptors teammate] DeMar [DeRozan] about it. But it’s one of them days where I know it’s going to be a lot of love for me and me giving love back, it’s just going to be interesting how it goes down because I don’t know what to expect.

“It’s different when you got traded from Memphis and you go back. I still get love from Memphis, which is awesome. I still get love from Houston. This is different because I continued to grow as a person in Toronto. So eight years in the city, one year I was in Tampa, but nine years overall with one franchise is a long time.”

Lowry landed in South Beach in the last offseason as the centerpiece of the Raptors-Heat sign-and-trade deal wherein guard Goran Dragic and big man Precious Achiuwa were sent to The North. The 35-year-old is currently averaging 13.4 points, 8.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds. 

As Lowry is set to be out, Raptors fandom has to wait until Feb. 1, as the Heat will pay a visit to Ontario.