The near-demise of the Toronto Raptors was once synonymous with the greatness of LeBron James . Before he fled to the Western Conference to transition to the next chapter of his career, the Cleveland Cavaliers legend flexed his muscle over the Eastern Conference in an unparalleled way.
Often on the other end of a James spectacle was DeMar DeRozan , who views the NBA's all-time leader as a great friend of the court — but not so much on it. Even years later, remembering how it all unfolded is still a routine thought for the new Sacramento Kings star.
Triggering painful memories
In a recent podcast appearance, DeRozan touched on his Raptors stint and how close his team was to making it over the hump. Reflecting on his matchups with the Cavaliers years later, the former NBA All-Star reinforces what many believed was always true.
"That [expletive] was just impossible to beat, you know what I mean?" DeRozan bristled when asked about LeBron. It was no other way around it."
Even at the top of his game, James persistently blockaded the Compton native's pursuit of NBA royalty. For most of those Cleveland-Toronto matchups, No. 23 was joined by star point guard Kyrie Irving and triple-threat big man Kevin Love. With Irving in Cleveland, the Raptors were bested in six games in 2016 and swept in 2017.
But in 2018, after Kyrie had departed for the conference rival Boston Celtics , many took the Cavs' loss of a superstar asset as a weakness, and less help for James seemingly meant a less dangerous James — boy, were they wrong.
In the midst of perhaps his finest postseason run ever, LeBron delivered the coup de grace with a running shot off the glass to beat the Game 3 buzzer in Cleveland. That, among a host of hurtful memories of the 6'9" forward ruining their season, is an inescapable memory for DeMar.
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No chance at all
Enough time has passed that revealing the truth — which has perhaps engulfed DeRozan for many years — isn't as hard as it once was. Nearly seven years past his Toronto days, the Kings star shared what all of Canada was thinking deep down inside through all the losing.
"I'm a be honest — no," DeRozan said when asked if the Raptors were ever good enough to beat James. “[...] He controlled everything from top to bottom. … He [is] one of the greats for a reason.
The former Raptors guard was 2-12 against James in the postseason from 2016 to 2018, with his pair of victories coming in Games 4 and 5 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals.
With DeRozan heading to Sacramento this summer, he returns to the same conference as his arch-rival, joining stars De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Interestingly, his best chance to secure a third win — and even a series win — against LeBron maybe next season. If it does happen, it'll be a long-awaited payback after years of defeat.
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