In a league full of three-point shooters, few players have dared to live up to their old-school game. Moreover, those who have tired, have often failed to stay relevant and have been out of a roster sooner rather than later, but that’s never been the case with DeMar DeRozan.
A master in crunch time and one of the all-time greatest mid-range scorers in the history of the league, DeRozan has rarely needed the three-pointer to score points or make an impact. His old-school, tantalizing game often reminiscences of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, not because of his dominance but thanks to his beautiful turnaround fadeaway and freakish athleticism.
Needless to say, DeRozan hasn’t found the same success as the aforementioned players, and it’s unlikely that he’ll ever will, but he’s still one of the best and most efficient scorers of his generation and someone who overcame major adversity to reach All-Star status. Today, we’re going to honor him by talking about his early life and struggles and how he managed to become a standout in the league and achieve all the accomplishments.
DeMar DeRozan – Early Life
Born and raised in Compton, DeMar DeRozan was often surrounded by gang violence. Son of Frank and Diane DeRozan, he started playing basketball with his dad at the tender age of 5. Unfortunately for him, his early years were marked with struggles, as his mother was diagnosed with Lupus and two of his uncles died at the hands of criminals, even though they weren’t involved in gangs. Also, making ends meet was always a challenge.
DeRozan quickly rose as a prominent basketball prospect at Compton High School, up to the point where gang members actually protected him and made sure that he stayed away from the streets. He was heavily pursued by other bigger-name high school programs from Compton but he stayed there and led them to the playoffs while averaging 26 points as a freshman.
By the time he was a senior, he was averaging 29.2 points and 7.9 boards a night, leading them to a 26-6 record, back-to-back Moore League titles, and the CIF Division IAA Southern Section quarter-finals; earning Moore League MVP honors. He was a Parade First-Team All-American, a McDonald’s All-American, and won the McDonald’s All-American Slam Dunk competition. He also participated in the Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit at the Madison Square Garden.
DeMar DeRozan – College Career
His impressive performances in high school granted him plenty of attention from major universities, eventually deciding to enroll at USC over North Carolina and Arizona State. He started all 35 games in his freshman season, reaching double figures in all but 7 of those matchups and recording four double-doubles. He finished that season with 485 points and 201 rebounds, ranking third and fourth all-time, respectively, by a USC freshman. He averaged 13.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per contest.
DeMar DeRozan – Toronto Raptors
The ever-struggling Toronto Raptors took DeMar DeRozan with the 9th pick of the first round in the 2009 NBA Draft. His rookie season was far from impressive, as he averaged just 8.6 points and struggled badly with his shot. Also, it’s not like he helped the team win a bunch of games.
DeRozan was a late bloomer but started averaging more points per game as the seasons went by. After four years, he finally got his first All-Star nod and started to get recognition as one of the best scorers in the league, becoming the Raptors’ go-to guy in the post-Chris Bosh era and raising a huge fanbase on the site.
The 2016-17 season was perhaps the best in his career. He averaged career highs in points per game (27.3) and trips to the free-throw line per game (8.7). He had an impressive 46.2% field goal percentage and handed out 5.2 assists per contest, often taking over in the fourth quarter when his team needed him the most.
The Raptors started to improve slowly but steadily,56 and 58 games in the 2016 and 2018 regular season, yet they often struggled to get by in the playoffs, constantly falling to LeBron James-led teams like the Miami Heat. The Raptors were stuck and in dire need of a change, so they let him go after nine seasons as the main guy on the site.
DeMar DeRozan – San Antonio Spurs
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri made one of the toughest decisions of his career. He traded away DeRozan along with Jakob Poeltl and a first-round pick, by then considered the greatest player in Raptors history, to land Kawhi Leonard and make a run at an NBA Championship. That worked out perfectly for them, as they beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, dethroning the Cleveland Cavaliers as reigning Eastern Conference champions.
But things didn’t go as well for DeRozan. He admitted that he felt like he was the problem in Toronto after his first season with the Spurs, and Gregg Popovich’s slow-paced offense didn’t exactly do much to exploit his athletic traits and his points per game average took a slight dip. He did improve as a passer, though, averaging nearly seven assists per game in his final year in Texas.
DeRozan often looked out of place, out of sync, and unhappy with a rebuilding Spurs team that struggled to win more often than not, but he failed to accept that his days as an All-Star were over. He rarely played as well as he did in Toronto, but a sign-and-trade would finally put an end to his misery in San Antonio after 3 seasons. There, he averaged roughly 21 points per game. On a more positive note, he did record his first career triple-double there.
DeMar DeRozan – The Chicago Bulls
Following some tough years with the San Antonio Spurs, most analysts predicted that DeRozan would take a big pay cut to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers and pursue his first NBA championship ring, as he hinted that during a full access interview in the offseason. Instead, he completed a somewhat shocking sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls, while the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook instead.
The Bulls offered him a lot of money and some claimed that he was the most overpaid player of the offseason, but it didn’t take long before he proved them wrong. Playing side by side with Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine, DeRozand brought back hope to Chicago and led the Bulls to the top of the Eastern Conference during the first half of the season.
DeRozan was reunited with his USC buddy Nikola Vucevic and didn’t hesitate to ask for the ball when the game was on the line. He became an All-Star starter and MVP candidate and even became the first player in NBA history to hit game-winning three-pointers in back-to-back nights, earning Eastern Conference player of the week honors twice this season.
His work ethic instantly made him a fan favorite among Bulls fans, as he stayed for hours on the court after missing several free throws during a key game. He didn’t take days off and helped carry Billy Donovan and his team through a tough stretch with multiple injuries, even being forced to play at the power forward spot for the first time in his career. Thus far, he’s averaging 26.3 points per game while shooting nearly 50% from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc, per Basketball-Reference’s website.
The Bulls’ interest in completing a sing-and-trade for him was clearly justified and his play has been nothing short of spectacular. He’s averaging the second-most points per game in his career and his ability to play on and off the ball has helped the Bulls dream of getting quite far in the playoffs. Not only did he accept that he wasn’t the team’s go-to guy but he also made LaVine better, with both combining for over 50 points per game and looking like they had played together for decades.
Signing DeRozan was the biggest win of the offseason and he’s made sure to keep receipts and make his points against those who doubted whether he still had it or not. Now, he needs to finish the job and win in the NBA Finals.
DeMar DeRozan – Awards And Honors
Throughout his remarkable career in the league, DeMar DeRozan has been an All-Star four times. He’s made the All-NBA Second Team, All-NBA Third Team, and helped Team USA win the gold medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the gold medal in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.
From his days in college, he was named to the PAC-10 All-Freshman team, the PAC-10 Tournament MVP, and the USC Trojans retired his no. 10 jersey. He was a McDonald’s All-American in high school as well as a First-Team Parade All-American. Thus far, he’s posted averages of 20.4 points per game to go along with 4.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists per game, and 1.0 steals. All that while shooting 46.2% from the floor. Those numbers may not be Hall of Fame-worthy to some, but he still has plenty of time to continue silencing his critics. Despite his athleticism and great talent, DeRozan has yet to win a championship ring.
Outside Of The Basketball Court
Besides scoring 20+ PPG on the basketball court, DeRozan has often been an advocate and activist for mental health. He’s spoken out on his own struggles on Twitter, has appeared on PSAs, and even the NBA’s official website has talked about those issues, giving full access to his feelings and thoughts. Some players laud him for addressing that tough subject in an industry where that kind of talk or access could be seen as a sign of weakness. Apparently, his biggest win didn’t come on the court.
What is DeRozan’s salary?
Throughout his entire career, DeMar DeRozan has made plenty of money on the basketball court. Since entering the NBA in 2009, he’s earned $176,705,770 million for his team salary alone, not counting endorsements.
Moreover, he signed a 3-year, $82 million fully-guaranteed contract with the Chicago Bulls, with his salary starting at $26,000,000 in the first year, and then going up to $27,300,000; and $28,600,000 in the final season. He’s making an average yearly salary of $27,300,000 and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
Why do they call DeRozan ‘Deebo’?
According to Hoops Hype, people around the hood started calling DeRozan ‘Deebo’ from ‘Friday’, one of the tall characters in the 1995 movie by Ice Cube, per his late father’s recollection. “They said, ‘Look, Mr. D., DeMar’s not in no gangs,’” the DeRozan patriarch recalled. ” ‘He’s not getting involved with this crazy stuff that we’re doing. Nobody will mess with him.”
What college did DeMar DeRozan go to?
He attended the university of Southern California. DeRozan flourished at USC, and became one of the top shooting guards in college basketball. As a freshman he received honorable mention All-Pac 10 honors, and was provided Honorable Mention for the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team. DeMar left USC after two seasons to enter the 2009 NBA Draft where he was selected ninth overall by the Toronto Raptors.
