76ers News: Mo Bamba Giving up Jersey Number for Kyle Lowry

Sixers big man giving jersey number to team's newest signee.

After being connected to the Philadelphia 76ers for the past few weeks, Kyle Lowry officially inked a deal with the team Tuesday. His new teammates have already begun accepting him, as one was willing to give up his jersey number. 

Aside from his time with the Memphis Grizzlies, Lowry has almost exclusively worn the number 7 in the NBA. Currently, Mo Bamba dons that number for the Sixers. However, that will soon not be the case. 

In the press release put out by the team, it stated Lowry will be wearing the number 7 moving forward. As for Bamba, he'll be switching the to the number 5. He wore this number early in his career after being drafted by the Orlando Magic. 

As a native of Philadelphia, Lowry has always wanted to suit up for his hometown team. Now, after 18 years in the league, he finally gets to achieve this dream. The six-time All-Star is expected to take on the backup point guard duties behind Tyrese Maxey. 

Along with playing for his hometown, Lowry will also be reuniting with two people in the organization. Daryl Morey was the GM of the Houston Rockets during his three years there, and Nick Nurse was one of his coaches on the Toronto Raptors. 

Lowry started this season with the Miami Heat, but was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Terry Rozier. After the Hornets weren't able to re-route him before the trade deadline, the two sides agreed to a buyout. 

Lowry appeared in 37 games for the Heat before being traded. In that time, he averaged 8.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 4.0 APG. The former champion was also having a bounce-back shooting season, connecting on 38.5% of his three while shooting over four a game.