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When his NBA Season Ends, Demar Derozan Comes Home

by Sebastian
Jul 4, 2017
2 min read

Demar Derozan is a superstar for the Toronto Raptors. He was 5th in the league in scoring (27.3 ppg), was selected to his third all-star team and oh yeah, he raked in just under $28 million for his efforts on the hardwood. With all this going on it’s easy to assume that he’s probably somewhere in Beverlywood basking in the sun as he enjoys his offseason. But he’s not… he’s home. Compton to be exact.

Derozan’s presence is constant in his hometown. Last week he held a free camp for Compton’s youth at Leuders park, where the gymnasium has already been named after the 27-year-old guard. Many NBA stars, such as Kobe Bryant during his playing days, hold camps that cost upwards of $350 to attend. They make thousands of dollars off of the middle to upper class kids that can afford to go, but many of their biggest young fans miss out.

Demar Derozan and a gym full of happy campers at his free summer camp.

Derozan is looking to break that chain with his free camp. It was open to boys and girls living in the city, just like he once did. The former Compton high school standout was present each day and was even seen outside playing with his daughter when he wasn’t in the gym.

A couple days after his summer camp, Derozan was back on the basketball court dazzling fans with his ever-expanding skillset, but not where you may expect a multimillionaire athlete to be playing. He was hooping in a high school gym, King Drew to be exact, home of the Drew League—one of the premier pro-am basketball leagues in the country. Derozan went head to head with (and actually lost to) the no. 1 high schooler in the country—Marvin Bagley III—in a game that featured 3 other NBA players (Montrezl Harrell, Norman Powell and Bobby Brown).

Demar Derozan looks to attack at his Drew League game.

Derozan has been playing in this gym since he was 14, and he doesn’t let any amount of fame mess with that routine. He greets fans, takes pictures with kids and reconnects with people who have been in his life for years. If it weren’t for the small crowd of basketball fans around him and the cameraman constantly lingering behind, you wouldn’t be able to tell him from the other local ballers in the league. It’s this genuine sense of realness that characterizes Derozan and makes him such a special person to the city of Compton.

Athletes like Demar Derozan need to be appreciated by the communities that they have such a strong impact on. His choice to give his summer to the city that raised him is admirable, and Compton is lucky to have someone looking out for them in the NBA. Hopefully Derozan can influence the next generation of NBA stars to commit more of their time to their city and a little less to their wallets.