Some places in the US have a certain reputation. Compton, California, is one of them, thanks to the many rap songs produced about it from hometown artists like Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar. For those who have not visited Compton, but have heard the songs, the impression would be that it’s a dangerous place. And it is.
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Compton, considered the birthplace of gangsta rap, has been a music hotbed. But it’s also produced many famous athletes, including tennis phenoms Venus and Serena Williams, NFL players Larry Allen and Richard Sherman, and basketball players Baron Davis, Lisa Leslie, and DeMar DeRozan.
A 16-year NBA vet, DeRozan has made six All-Star teams in his career. In a recent appearance on the Run Your Race podcast, he confirmed that Compton has more than earned its reputation as the murder capital of the country. It was the fear of being stuck in that life that pushed him as a kid on the court.
“I don’t wanna keep living the way I’m living, going back to Compton,” DeRozan said.
“I was so fearful of continuing that part of my life that it drove me to give everything I had every time I went to go hoop. Some people have that confidence when they go out there; mine was the fear of not wanting to fall back into the environment I was in,” he added.
DeRozan’s worry was justified. He had played in some of the most intimidating environments imaginable when he was a star on the Compton High School team.
An NBA arena doesn’t compare to what DeRozan has seen
DeRozan is known for being calm, cool, and collected on the court. And that likely stems from playing in such hostile environments at a young age. As he told Run Your Race host Theo Pinson, basketball often felt like life or death back then.
“Every high school we used to go to, we had to deal with whatever gang was at that high school,” DeRozan said. “So we gettin’ off the bus, we could be gettin’ banged on by another hood from that school.
“There’s been times I played at certain schools, and the whole row be gang members, and they get to yellin’ like, ‘You make the next shot, you ain’t makin’ it out of here’,” he elaborated.
There were even times when DeRozan and his team needed a police escort to leave opposing gyms. They’d sometimes leave before the final buzzer to ensure their safety.
DeRozan obviously did make it out of those gyms and out of Compton, and he’s had an incredibly successful NBA career. Those California ties have stuck with him, though.
He played college ball at USC and was traded to the Sacramento Kings this past offseason after years of playing in Toronto, San Antonio, and Chicago.
