DeMar DeRozan believes he and Kyle Lowry are worthy of All-Star Game selection

The last time the Toronto Raptors had two players in the NBA All-Star Game, it was 2001 and those players were Vince Carter and Antonio Davis. DeMar DeRozan believes it's about time for that to change.

If DeRozan, who is averaging career highs in points (21.8 PPG), rebounds (4.7 RPG), assists (3.5 APG), and steals (1.2 SPG), has his way, both he and teammate Kyle Lowry will have their names called when the reserves for the 2014 All-Star Game in New Orleans are announced Thursday night on TNT before the Cavaliers-Knicks game. The Raptors haven't had an All-Star since 2010, Chris Bosh's last season in Toronto.

"When I go out there on the court I leave it out there , I let my game speak for itself," said DeRozan. "To me, it's obvious. Not to sound cocky, but I've worked extremely hard and feel like I've been put into a great position to do that."

Lowry is also enjoying a career year, putting up 16.8 PPG, 7.6 APG, and 4.3 RPG while leading the charge on the defensive end.

"You can't deny what he's been doing," said DeRozan. "You can't name many point guards in the Eastern Conference playing better than him."

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"It's great to be mentioned in that category with such great players. It shows the success of the team when you get consideration as an All-Star," said Lowry. "It shows that when you work hard, it pays off."

"Those two guys have been leaders and I can't say enough about how much they've meant to the team," said head coach Dwane Casey. "They do deserve to be All-Stars. I think both of them are playing very good basketball at their positions in the Eastern Conference. I think you can tell a lot from what players around the league have said about DeMar and about Kyle and what the coaches have said to me about them.

"It's important for them, but again, if they don't make it, it's not the end of the world, but I'm confident we can at least get one [into the All-Star Game]," said Casey. "We deserve at least one because we're third in the Eastern Conference and you should reward players for winning."

DeRozan's All-Star candidacy has the support of two big names in the basketball community that are very familiar with the stage, Miami Heat star and 10-time All-Star Dwyane Wade and Los Angeles Lakers legend and 12-time All-Star Magic Johnson.

"Seeing a lot of stuff from your peers, it definitely means a lot," said DeRozan. "I grew up watching Magic, so that was definitely big, just for him to mention me like that."