DeMar DeRozan has made two All-Star Games since being traded from the Toronto Raptors, and he credits one legendary figure with helping to save his career.
DeMar DeRozan, despite playing for three other teams, is best known for his nine seasons with the Toronto Raptors, where he started his career, blossomed into an All-Star, and became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.
However, after nine seasons, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard in a deal that is solely responsible for winning Toronto its lone title in 2019.
DeRozan has been open that the trade left him feeling betrayed, although he has since found a silver lining and credits the deal with prolonging his career.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesGregg Popovich helped DeRozan expand his game
Before being traded to the Spurs, DeRozan was one of the very best scorers in the game, although his style was very one-dimensional. He was not a great defender, nor could he facilitate or make shots from deep. Instead, he thrived in the midrange and in the paint, scoring with volume close to the basket.
That wouldn’t fly in San Antonio under Gregg Popovich’s team-first system.
“One of the first shoot-arounds we had, bro, I’ll never forget, this man said, ‘Yeah, we gonna do this, DeMar’s the point guard,’ and I was like, I said, ‘What man, I ain’t no f—— point guard, what you mean I’m the point guard?’ he revealed.
The Spurs, by trading Leonard, signaled the end of their dynasty, although with DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, and Derrick White, they had enough talent to remain competitive.
Dejounte Murray missed all of DeRozan’s first season in San Antonio with injury, leaving a hole at point guard. Popovich, unconventionally, slotted the forward into the lead guard spot, and he blossomed.
“Later down the line, I figured that he did that to challenge me on understanding how to make everybody else around me better, because I was always caught up in thinking of being the scorer first,” DeRozan continued.
“I remember my first month, month and a half, I was like top three, four in assists in the league, because it was like, he had me understand, three and a half quarters, dominate, making your teammates better.”
During DeRozan’s three seasons with the Spurs, he set career-high marks in assists and likely would have made multiple All-Star teams had the Spurs simply been better, although Popovich’s impact went beyond the court.
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesDeRozan reveals what made Popovich different
During his coaching tenure, Popovich embraced the person, not the player. This isn’t exactly a revelation, although it’s more apparent with DeRozan than anyone else.
DeRozan’s father died in February of 2021, leaving DeMar without a key figure in his life. Popovich helped guide him through the grief, and whenever DeRozan returned to San Antonio to play against the Spurs, he would embrace Popovich both before and after the game.
“His approach with me wasn’t basketball, it was the humility that he brought with being a coach, that he established right away, that made me feel like, man I run through a wall for this motherf—–, I ain’t even put on a Spurs jersey, you know what I mean?” said DeRozan while reflecting on his first few weeks with the Spurs.
In 2024, DeRozan published a book, “Above the Noise: My Story of Chasing Calm,” which highlighted his struggle with mental health. Popovich wrote the foreword and was apparently thrilled that DeRozan was focusing on things bigger than basketball.
DeRozan has had his career revitalized
While DeRozan certainly peaked as a player during his time with the Raptors, his time with the Spurs has prolonged his career. His shot and playmaking improved, and as he ages and loses athleticism, Popovich’s tutelage has allowed him to remain an All-Star well into his 30s.
SpanPPGAPGFG%3PT%Before Spurs (Nine Seasons)19.73.144.8%28.8%After Spurs (Seven Seasons)23.45.549.5%31.6%DeMar DeRozan Career Stats
The Spurs only made the playoffs once during DeRozan’s three-season tenure, and having him play point guard is not conducive to winning, although he can lead an offense for spot minutes and add offensive versatility in San Antonio.
While the Raptors, led by DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, might have been able to make the Finals in a LeBron James-less East in 2019, Toronto needed to make some sort of move to bolster their roster and add star power, and DeRozan was the odd man out.
While getting shipped to San Antonio was less than ideal, DeRozan was able to make the most of the situation, prolonging his peak and career.