NBA Characters! The Real Tough Guy - DeRozan: The Legend of Walking Out from the Slums

Competitive sports are so cruel. The winners are kings and the losers are bandits. People will only remember how many games you lost, and will not care about the pain you experienced.

When DeRozan's depression was first reported, what awaited him was not sympathy, but ridicule and abuse. People think DeRozan is too fragile inside. How can he take the lead in a team? Little do you know that if his experience is put on you, you may not be better than him.

DeRozan's mother is Diane, a lupus erythematosus patient. She was told by the doctor that she would never have children in her life. Her father's name is Frank, a football player and a kidney disease patient. They had already planned to have no children, but when Diane was 34 years old, she was diagnosed with an unexpected pregnancy. For physical considerations, the doctor did not recommend leaving the child, but Diane was firm. In the end, she risked her life and gave birth to DeRozan, which was also the only child of the couple.

Compton, California, is one of the highest crime rates in the United States. There are "5.2 violent incidents" on average every day, so DeRozan's childhood was completely spent in gang battles and police sirens. Although his father protected him well and would pick him up and drop him off every day, DeRozan still witnessed the death of his relatives. When he was 7 years old, his uncle was killed by a stray bullet at the door of a convenience store. The scene of blood soaking the asphalt road became a permanent psychological imprint of DeRozan. "I ran home with a basketball in my arms and trembled all night." A few years later, his 15-year-old close friend died in drug dealings, and his cousin Lemar, who was shot 12 in a street gunfight...

"It is no exaggeration to say that the number of times I attended the funeral even surpassed birthday parties."

Basketball became DeRozan's only redemption. With his outstanding talent, he soon He is a little famous and has become a famous basketball genius in the local area. The gang also has an unwritten rule. They never provoke children with good sports, and even secretly protect them. Members of Compton's "Blood Gang" always DeRozan clears the court and shouts to other gangs, "DeMar must leave here alive." In high school, DeRozan became a scoring machine: he averaged 22.6 points per game in his sophomore season, and soared to 29.2 points + 7.9 rebounds + 3.9 steals in his third year, leading Compton High School to win the Moore League championship twice.

When the University of North Carolina handed over the olive branch of Jordan's alma mater and when Kentucky promised to bring him into the focus of the United States, DeRozan made a shocking decision to choose the University of Southern California (USC), which is only 11 miles away from home. The reason is cruel and warm - Mother Diane's lupus erythematosus is in its late stage and requires daily injection of immunosuppressants. "I can rush home in 20 minutes, this is the only choice."

2008 NCAA venue, this 18-year-old boy took on double responsibilities:

- Stadium: Pac-10 finals against the University of Arizona, he scored 25 points + 9 rebounds to lead the team to win the championship, and was elected as the MVP of the Championship;

- Ward: After the game, he drove his mother to dialysis overnight and returned to the arena at 4 a.m. for additional practice.

After the data of 13.9 points + 5.7 rebounds and 52.3% shooting percentage in his freshman season, he is a daily life of missing all parties throughout the year and huddling in a hospital bench in the early morning to make up for sleep. In January 2020, when he returned to his alma mater wearing a Bulls, USC retired his No. 10 jersey, a cheering crowd, the first freshman in team history to win this honor.

2009 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors selected DeRozan with the No. 9 pick in the first round. The severe cold of the Northland Kingdom and the fans' obsession with Vince Carter constitute double pressure. He averaged only 8.6 points per game in the rookie season, and the media mocked him: "Another dunker who can't shoot."

But soon, DeRozan used Jordan's offensive method to become one of the top scorers in the league.

- 2013-14 season: Average 22.7 points (summing + 9.1 points from the previous season), and he made his first career All-Star;

- 2017-18 season: Average 27.3 points per game, leading the Raptors to win the best record in team history with 59 wins.

Nine-year career as the Raptors, he left behind 21,486 minutes of playing time (first in team history), 13,296 points (first in team history), and 92 single games 30+ (first in team history). When the fans shouted "King of the North", but they didn't know that he was sliding into the abyss. His mother's condition was getting worse and worse, and his father's kidney disease also worsened sharply. The 5-year-old daughter Dai Yaer told DeRozan that her joints were a little painful, which made DeRozan instantly think of the situation when his mother was sick...

My parents need him, his daughter needs him, and the team also needs him. Coupled with the negative emotions accumulated over the years, DeRozan replaced him with severe depression. He began to suffer from insomnia and began to post some things on social platforms for no reason, black videos without pictures, etc. In the 2018 playoffs, DeRozan's Raptors were swept by the Cavaliers led by James again. The doubts that came like a tide drown the struggling DeRozan, his condition became worse and worse. At this moment, his girlfriend also left with two daughters.

DeRozan hid in the shower in the locker room and cried. Only the closest people knew what he had experienced. They pulled DeRozan out and stayed by his side silently.

In 2021, his father Frank died of illness, and his mother also reached a critical stage of drug treatment. His daughter was eventually diagnosed with lupus erythematosus. At this time, the Heat sent an olive branch to DeRozan and offered a quotation worth a considerable salary, but DeRozan once again made a choice that went against his career and came to the Chicago Bulls who had no hope of winning the championship, because there is the best medical team for treating lupus erythematosus. DeRozan hired them to treat their mother and daughter, spending more than $40,000 a week.

Under DeRozan's careful care, his daughter's condition was temporarily under control. At the same time, he also established a fund to specifically fund the treatment of lupus erythematosus in children from poor families.

Drozan now has no longer had much obsession with winning or winning the championship, especially after the Raptors won the championship, people always compare him with Leonard and then defame him to nothing. Whenever they hear these remarks, Derozan will feel angry, but now, he has already let go. After the training, I went to the ward to take care of my mother, and took my daughter to the stadium to teach her how to break through with European steps. This is the happiest thing for DeRozan every day.

"Mother has fought against the disease for 30 years, and daughter will face a lifelong battle. But we will win - because love is more contagious than lupus." - DeRozan