DeMar DeRozan

His parents are Diane and Frank. Diane was diagnosed with Lupus when DeRozan was just a child. He has since helped raise awareness for the condition. In addition to this, DeRozan is also a mental health advocate, especially for depression. He is married to Kiara DeRozan.

High School and College Career

DeRozan shot up in height from a very young age and by sixth grade, he was able to dunk. At Compton High School, where DeRozan played for the team, this was considered a great thing and in his four years, averaged 26.1 points, 22.6 points, 22.3 points, and 29.2 points in each of his four seasons.

DeRozan led his school to two consecutive Moore League Championships and also to the CIF Division IAA Southern Section Quarter Finals. He even won the Moore League MVP award while being named to the All-State Team for California.

DeRozan was also named to the 2008 McDonald’s All-American Team as he won the 2008 McDonald’s All-American Slam Dunk contest as well.

At the 2008 Jordan Brand Classic, DeRozan was invited to showcase his skills, as he was at the Nike Hoop Summit where he led the team with 17 points. DeRozan was also named to the Parade Magazine All-American First Team as well as the First Team Best in the West.

DeRozan decided to sign with the University of South Carolina, along with his friend Romeo Miller, and played for the Trojans from 2008 to 2009. DeRozan helped his team win the Pac-10 Tournament final and won First Team Pac-10 All-Freshman honors along with his MVP award for the entire tournament.

In his 35 games that season, DeRozan had 28 double-score figures with four double-doubles. As a freshman, DeRozan is ranked third amongst all-time freshmen, with 485 points while his 201 rebounds are ranked fourth all-time.

Professional Career

In April 2009, DeRozan decided to declare for the 2009 NBA Draft and was picked at 9th overall, by the Toronto Raptors. He recorded a career-high 37 points against the Houston Rockets in 2010. DeRozan also finished in third place at the 2011 Sprite Slam Dunk Competition.

A breakout year, DeRozan achieved career-highs in scores, assists, and rebounds in the 2013 to 2014 Season. He also led the Raptors to the third-seed spot in the Eastern Conference. While his next season started with injuries, he was still able to help the team advance into the playoff series.

In the 2015 to 2016 Season, he had a season-high score of 38 points. He also helped the team achieve a 50-win for the season for the first time in the Raptors’ history. Also for the first time in franchise history, the Raptors went on to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals but were eventually defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

During the 2016 to 2017 Season, DeRozan reached several milestones, such as the third 40-point career outing and going past Vince Carter’s record of scoring the most points through the first 2 games in the season. He also became the first NBA player to record 30 points 9 times in the team’s first 11 games since Michael Jordan did it in the 1987 to 1988 Season.

DeRozan went on to score 52 points in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2017 to 2018 Season – setting a new franchise record. This also led him to become the third player in franchise history to score 50 points or more in a game. DeRozan was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in July 2018.

The trade to the Spurs was controversial because he was a fan favorite. He debuted for the team in October 2018. He remained one of the best players for the Spurs until they traded him to the Chicago Bulls in 2021. It was a sign-and-trade deal that gave the Spurs Thaddeus Young and Al-Farouq Aminu as well as a protected first-round draft. January of the following year, he was named to the NBA All-Star team.

In 2022 and 2023 he would again be named an NBA All-Star. In 2022, he was also named to the All-NBA Second Team for a second time. In the 2022-2023 season, he scored his 20,000th point. He is the 50th player in the NBA to achieve that feat.

Career Highlights

• 2014, 2016–2018, 2022, 2023 - NBA All-Star
• 2018, 2022 - All-NBA Second Team
• 2017 - All-NBA Third Team
• 2009 - Pac-10 tournament MVP

• 2009 - Pac-10 All-Freshman Team

• No. 10 retired by USC Trojans

• 2008 - First-team Parade All-American
• 2008 - McDonald’s All-American

Medal record, Men’s basketball, representing the United States

• Gold - 2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro
• Gold - 2014 World Cup Spain