"I'll give you $100" - DeMar DeRozan was willing to pay anyone to stop LeBron James in the 2017 playoffs

No basketball player has terrorized the Toronto Raptors more than LeBron James. The Raptors were slowly building themselves a contending team when Duane Casey took over as head coach in 2012. However, a year later, James left the Miami Heat and returned to play for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers.

And so just as the Raptors broke through during the 2015-16 NBA season with their first 50-win campaign in franchise history with 56 wins, they ran into LeBron and the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals and lost the series 2-4 with Cleveland going all the way to win their first NBA title ever.

The following year, Toronto finished the regular season with a 51-31 mark and the No.3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 4-2 in the first round, and in the next, they were matched up against “King James” and the Cavaliers for the second straight season.

The defending NBA champs took Game 1 easily, 116-105 at home, with James going off with 35 points and 10 rebounds. Game 2 was even more one-sided with the home team running away with murder, 125-103, leaving Raptors star DeMar DeRozan frustrated after his team fell 0-2 down to their 2016 tormentors.

“It sucks. It sucks. To lose as we did and play like I did sucks. It’s frustrating,” DeRozan said. “Now, just have the idle time of having to wait until Friday night [Game 3] to redeem yourself.”

The Raptors had no answer for LeBron

DeRozan struggled in Game 2 with only five points on 2-11 shooting. But that wasn’t his only issue. After his big Game 1, James had an even better performance in Game 2, as he scored 39 points on 10-14 shooting, including 4-6 from 3-point distance. LBJ also added six rebounds, four blocks, three steals, and two blocked shots in 36 minutes of action as he completely dominated Toronto for the second straight game.

With seemingly no answer for King James, Deebo offered a reward to anyone who could help them slow down the rampaging Cavs star.

“If you can find somebody to stop LeBron in these moments, I’ll give you $100,” DeRozan said. But no one came forward to take on his offer.

DeMar bounced back with a crazy 37-point performance in Game 3 as the series shifted to Toronto. However, LeBron still managed 35, and the Cavs took a 3-0 series lead with a 115-94 win. In Game 4, James had another 35-point game as Cleveland won again, 109-102 and swept Toronto. He finished the series averaging 36.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in a masterclass series.

The legend of “LeBronto” was born the next year

The following season, the Raptors were poised to finally beat the Cavs on the third try. Toronto was the best regular-season team in the Eastern Conference with their 59-23 record, while the Cavs were just the No.4 seed. However, it was another year, the same story: LeBron had a triple-double as Cleveland stole Game 1 in Toronto, 113-112, in an overtime thriller.

In Game 2, the Raptors took a 98-87 lead at the end of the third quarter. Going to the break, recently retired ESPN play-by-play anchor Mark Jones said, “We’ll be back to LeBronto for the fourth quarter, after this”, as James had already scored 31 going to the fourth quarter. From that moment on, the legend of “LeBronto” was born.

James rallied the Cavs to a 128-110 win and delivered a splendid 43-point, 14-assist, 8-rebound performance.LeBron had 38 in Game 3 and 29 in Game 4 as Cleveland swept Toronto for the second consecutive year.

Luckily for the Raptors, James left Cleveland that summer and signed with the L.A. Lakers. Meanwhile, DeRozan was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard.

Not surprisingly, the Raptors finally came out of the East with LeBron no longer there. Toronto upset the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals to win their first-ever NBA title. However, “LeBronto” became an urban legend.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“I’ll give you $100” – DeMar DeRozan was willing to pay anyone to stop LeBron James in the 2017 playoffs