Kyle Lowry is going to stick around in his hometown.
The 38-year-old guard has agreed to return to the Sixers, he announced on his Instagram page Thursday night.
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ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Lowry's contract is a one-year deal.
Lowry signed with the Sixers after reaching a contract buyout with the Hornets and finally made his Philadelphia debut on Feb. 22. The six-time All-Star appeared in 23 regular-season games for the team and averaged 8.0 points, 4.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds.
The Villanova product started next to All-Star Tyrese Maxey and immediately focused on mentoring his 23-year-old teammate.
“He’s been great,” Maxey said on Feb. 27. “I’ve got nothing but appreciation for him. He just comes up to me and gives me little nuggets throughout the game. As soon as he touched down, the first time I saw him, he said, ‘Man, I’m here to help you. Whatever you need, any questions that you have, bring ‘em to me. I’ll be in your ear every single day. I appreciate you allowing me to do that.’
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“And I told him I appreciate him helping me, because this is new for me and I’m trying to be the best version of myself to help us win games.”
It’s never easy to project exactly how players’ games will age in their late 30s, but Lowry helped the Sixers last year with his savvy screening, ability to hold up defensively against much bigger players, and comfort taking important shots. Playing Lowry almost 30 minutes per game again would presumably not be ideal for the Sixers, but De’Anthony Melton’s back injury contributed to him assuming a sizable role last season.
Whatever Lowry’s minutes look like in 2024-25, he’ll have another run in Philadelphia with head coach Nick Nurse and stars Maxey and Joel Embiid.
“It was part of the reason I came here, to be able to be a part of the growth of Tyrese and the growth of Joel,” Lowry told reporters after the Sixers’ season-ending loss to the Knicks. “And watching them and trying to help them as much as I can with the maturation process. The things that these guys have done … Joel playing on one leg. Tyrese … going through ups and downs and finding ways to be successful.
“As a guy who’s been in the league a long time, I was so happy I got the opportunity to play with these guys and be around them.”
Until bringing back Lowry, the Sixers didn't have a conventional, veteran point guard under contract behind Maxey for next season. At the moment, the team's projected starting five is Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George, Caleb Martin and Embiid.
They've also got Lowry, Eric Gordon, Jared McCain, Ricky Council IV, Andre Drummond and Adem Bona. Justin Edwards has signed a two-way contract.