DeRozan wants to become all-time greatest Raptor
All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan bleeds Raptor red, which is why he refused meetings with all other interested parties in free agency, knowing full well that he wanted to continue calling the 6ix his home with a new long-term deal.
The franchise has been starved of success for much of its existence, but with DeRozan at the forefront, the Raptors have made three consecutive postseason appearances and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 2015-16 when the Raptors took two games against the eventual NBA champions. Slowly but surely, the 27-year-old is putting together a resume that should vault him past the likes of Vince Carter and Chris Bosh as Toronto's greatest player ever - a title he'd love to have.
"Without a doubt. No question," DeRozan told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears. "How many people get to say they hold one record for an organization, or were on the winningest team in Raptors history, or did this with one organization? All of those things last longer than your playing career. It took time for me to get out of the second round (of the playoffs) in Raptors history. And we did that (this year), and that’s something that is going to be there.
"If we don’t do it and someone else wins a championship, they are still going to revert back to the 2015-16 team as the best team until then. Ten, 15, 20 years from now, whatever it might be, those things last longer. It’s something you put your all into."
DeRozan's Career Numbers (Raptors)
| Statistic | Total | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 535 | 2 |
| Minutes | 18172 | 2 |
| Points | 9869 | 2 |
| FG Made | 3300 | 2 |
| FT Made | 2642 | 2 |
| Rebounds | 2111 | 5 |
| Assists | 1423 | 6 |
| Steals | 512 | 5 |
Related - DeRozan: Other shooting guards want my mid-range game
Unlike Carter and Bosh, DeRozan put his money where his mouth was and didn't leave when he had the opportunity to do so. For years, the belief was that the Raptors couldn't keep their top guys, who would bolt the minute their contracts expired. DeRozan staying put went a long way towards eradicating that reputation, deserved or not.
"At some point, somebody has to break it, get that stigma off of them. I definitely helped that," DeRozan said. "It showed that you don’t have to do what someone else did, or just because someone else did (something) doesn’t mean you have to do it. Whatever you believe in and feel comfortable with, you have to go with it."
He's one of just three players currently averaging 30 or more points per game (30.9), and is coming off a stretch in which he dropped 30 or more in 10 of 12 outings.