NBA All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan is set to begin his 16th NBA season, this time with the Sacramento Kings, marking the fourth team of his career. While DeRozan has enjoyed success with his previous teams, nothing compares to his time with the Toronto Raptors, where his career first took off. In a recent appearance on the JD Bunkis Podcast on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, DeRozan was asked if he’d like to finish his career in Toronto. The 35-year-old was clear, expressing that it would be a “poetic ending.”
“You always want a poetic ending like that,” DeRozan said. “Granted, most people don’t get to write their own ending. But what better ending than finishing where you started? And not just by hanging up the jersey, but by still being yourself. I wouldn’t want to come back like (Hakeem) Olajuwon, who ended his career as a Raptor but with much-diminished stats. It has to make sense. You want to go out the way you came in, that’s how people remember you.”
DeRozan spent nine seasons with the Raptors before being traded in 2018 to the San Antonio Spurs, along with Jakob Poeltl and a draft pick, for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. During his three seasons in San Antonio, DeRozan averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.0 steals while shooting 50.1 percent from the field.
Though it’s been seven years since the trade, DeRozan remains connected to Toronto. As a Raptor, he reached milestones few others have, aside from winning a championship. Drafted 9th overall in 2009, DeRozan played 675 games for Toronto, averaging 19.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.
Now entering the first season of his three-year, $76.7 million deal with the Kings, DeRozan hasn’t ruled out the possibility of finishing his career in Toronto. However, given that he’ll be 38 by the end of his contract, it’s uncertain how much more he has left in the tank, potentially bringing this dream closer to reality.
