mobile app bar

“The Raptors ABSOLUTELY SHOULD retire DeMar DeRozan’s jersey!”: Lakers’ LeBron James gives his take on DeRozan and his legacy for ‘The North’

Kunal Das
Published

"The Raptors ABSOLUTELY SHOULD DeMar DeRozan's jersey!": Lakers' LeBron James gives his take on DeRozan and his legacy for 'The North'

Lakers’ superstar LeBron James talks about DeMar DeRozan and firmly believes that his jersey should be retired with the Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a relatively newer team in the league and have understandably had fewer superstars than other teams. The late 90s saw the Raptors land legends like Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, only to lose both in acrimonious circumstances.

Chris Bosh had provided a new beam of hope, but the Raptors failed to build a good team around their franchise guy. Bosh would leave Toronto to form the Heatles in Miami, but only just after the team landed DeMar DeRozan.

Also Read: Hip-Hop sensation Drake spotted with a beard like the Lakers’ superstar in the ‘Way 2 Sexy’ music video

The youngster was left with a poor roster around him, but that didn’t diminish his confidence. He famously tweeted “Don’t worry, I got us!” just after Bosh left, which established him as the savior of the north. Fans still remember DeRozan as the first guy who repped the team culture like no one before, and who actually wanted to play in Canada.

The journey to DeMar becoming a franchise guy himself wasn’t tough, the kid had bucket loads of talent. The issue began when expectations started raising, and fans needed some postseason success to truly believe in their team. While his partnership with Kyle Lowry was extraordinary, there was only one problem: LeBron James.

LeBron James eliminated DeMar DeRozan for three straight years from 2016-2018

DeRozan and Lowry led the Raptors to five straight playoffs between 2014 and 2018. However, they could never replicate their regular-season success into playoff success. A major reason for the same was one man: LeBron James. From 2016-2018, the Raptors had their fate sealed by one man alone. They reached their first-ever Conference Finals in 2016, only to fall short 2-4 to LeBron and his Cavs. After that, the Cavs swept the Raptors in the second round for two straight years in 2017 and 2018.

In a recent Instagram post, a person asked if the Raptors should retire DeRozan’s jersey. As someone who is the key reason behind DeRozan’s departure from ‘The North’, LeBron sure believes the guard deserves the honor.

Also Read: Knicks fans found it difficult to believe that ‘The King’ chose Miami Heat over them during The Decision

DeMar DeRozan absolutely deserves the jersey retirement in our opinion too. Even after his sensational trade for Kawhi Leonard, he has had extremely productive seasons with the Spurs. We will certainly look forward to his time with the Bulls next season.

About the author

Share this article