Few players in the NBA have endured postseason heartbreak at the hands of LeBron James quite like DeMar DeRozan. The six-time All-Star recently opened up about the repeated playoff defeats he suffered while with the Toronto Raptors—each one at the hands of LeBron’s Cavaliers.
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From 2016 to 2018, the Raptors faced LeBron in three consecutive postseason runs and lost every series. DeRozan holds a painful 2-12 playoff record against the four-time champion. What stung most was the sense of helplessness he felt during those matchups.
LeBron James was the most dominant force in the league during that era, turning deep playoff runs into routine business. While the entire Eastern Conference treaded carefully, he seemed to especially relish facing the Raptors. Each game against Toronto felt like another chance for LeBron to assert his superiority—almost effortlessly. His dominance became so one-sided that fans began calling the city “LeBronto.”
DeRozan admitted those series were so mentally and emotionally taxing that they’ve become a “blur” in his memory.
On Run Your Race podcast, he said, “That sh*t all a blur to me. All that sh*t felt the same.” The repeated playoff failures left scars that he’d rather not reopen.
A simple statement summed up what it was like to face one of the greatest players of all time while constantly falling short. The emotional toll of being consistently outplayed by LeBron, despite putting together some of his best years, is something DeRozan clearly still carries.
But LeBron didn’t just beat DeRozan and the Raptors. It was so bad that he made Deebo leave Toronto.
During an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, he had said, “It was Game 3, and I just remember, because I was out of the game. I just remember him shooting that one-legged floater and it going in. And I was like, ‘Sh*t, this is it right here.’ That was like the end of my time in Toronto. That one haunts me for sure.”
Still, for all the pain, DeRozan has nothing but respect for LeBron. Even after being on the receiving end of so many losses, he took the opportunity to defend LeBron against critics who question the Lakers star’s longevity or suggest his time is up.
DeRozan was quick to shut that talk down, pointing out how rare it is to perform at such a high level at LeBron’s age.
He claimed that most players or teams in the league today wouldn’t stand a chance against the 2016 version of LeBron. And while he might be well past his prime now, what LeBron is doing as a 40-year-old is simply extraordinary.
