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Fans give DeMar DeRozan the love he deserves in return to Toronto


Toronto fans haven’t been too kind to formers stars that return to their city in the relatively short history of the Raptors franchise. In fairness, that’s been understandable.

Marquee players of Toronto’s past — names such as Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter and Chris Bosh — wore Raptors uniforms during times that weren’t particularly successful. They were there for the early years of mediocrity and all eventually wanted out. As a result, these stars didn’t get much love once they came back to the Air Canada Centre, now Scotiabank Arena, with their new squads.

DeMar DeRozan wasn’t like those Toronto stars of the past, though. Drafted and developed by the organization, he spent the first nine years of his NBA career with the team. During that time, fans watched him blossom into the star that he is today. He was named an All-Star four times while a Raptor, including his last three seasons with the team. And, it can’t be forgotten that he helped take the franchise further in the playoffs than they’ve ever been before.

(Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)

More than all of that though, he was a talented player that truly loved Toronto. He was a fan of the city and enjoying playing for Canada’s team. As a result, everyone was shocked when he was traded over the summer along with Jakob Poeltl to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.

Blindsided and heartbroken, the organization’s leader in games played and points struggled with having to leave Toronto behind, especially his best friend, Kyle Lowry. It was something that we’ve never seen from a Raptors star before. Based on the way Toronto fans welcomed him back, they’ll always be appreciative of that and all that he did for the organization.

Well before his new and old teams tipped off on Friday night, he was already getting plenty of love from those that showed up early. It was love that he saw with his eyes.

And love that he heard loud and clear.

Those early cheers ahead of his warmup were a very good indicator of what was to come. To the surprise of nobody, the building erupted after DeRozan’s emotional video tribute during the first timeout of the game.

Following all that he did and sacrificed for the franchise, it was quite understandable that he was deeply hurt by the events of last summer. While speaking to the media ahead of his return on Thursday night, he made it known that “time does heal everything…”

(Now, manufacturing the first triple-double of his career when Toronto visited San Antonio back on Jan. 3 likely helped things along.)

Nonetheless, hopefully the love and admiration that he received on Friday night will only continue the mending process.

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