‘Every true fan and every person that knows me there knows I represented that place more than anybody’<\/p>\n
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Published Oct 09, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0hour ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n The ongoing war of words between former Toronto Raptors superstar DeMar DeRozan and rapper Drake isn\u2019t ending anytime soon.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Ahead of a pre-season tilt between the Raptors and DeRozan\u2019s Sacramento Kings this week, Toronto\u2019s all-time leading point-scorer was quizzed on his former team.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s home, man,\u201d DeRozan, 36, said (per The Sacramento Bee<\/a>). \u201cThat\u2019s where my whole career started.\u201d<\/p>\n DeRozan spent nine seasons in Toronto and helped lead the basketball club during five playoff runs. But after continuous futility in the postseason, the Raptors dealt the six-time All-Star to the San Antonio Spurs in 2018 as part of a trade package for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.<\/p>\n Gone seven years from the team that drafted him in 2009, DeRozan still has fond memories of his time in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where I became the player I am today, so the Raptors organization is definitely always going to have a special place regardless. Now, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years from now, nothing that can ever replace that feeling I had those nine years there, so it\u2019s always cool to see familiar faces that\u2019s still there and going against them,\u201d DeRozan said Wednesday.<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n During DeRozan\u2019s career in Toronto, he was often seen embracing and laughing postgame with Drake, who is the Raptors\u2019 global ambassador. After he was dealt away, Drake consoled DeRozan. They even posed together, alongside former Raptor Kyle Lowry, on the cover of Slam back in 2016.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, day it came out, I went to Drake\u2019s house,\u201d DeRozan said in a 2018 interview with ESPN\u2018s Chris Haynes<\/a>. \u201cMe and him sat and talked for a couple of hours. Not even on some hoops stuff. Just to hear the words that come from him being the person that he is in this world, especially in Toronto. What I meant to this city. It was what I needed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter what, when it comes to him, he\u2019ll forever have a friend in me and loyalty out of me because he cared,\u201d\u00a0DeRozan said of Drake in 2021<\/a>. \u201cHe was there for me when everything was kind of going crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The friendship came to a grinding halt in the summer of 2024 when DeRozan appeared onstage as rapper\u00a0Kendrick Lamar performed\u00a0Not Like Us<\/a> \u2014 a diss number he wrote aimed at Drake during their months-long rap battle.<\/p>\n DeRozan, who also appeared in the music video for the track, maintained that he was still friends with Drake, telling The Sacramento Bee<\/a>: \u201cDrake\u2019s still my man, still my man, none of it changed.\u201d<\/p>\n But when the Kings were in town last November, on a night the Raptors had circled to honour former star Vince Carter, Drake said it was \u201cunfortunate we\u2019re playing this goof tonight,\u201d referring to DeRozan.<\/p>\n He also said that if the Raptors ever retire DeRozan\u2019s No. 10 jersey, he\u2019ll rip it down.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you ever put up a DeRozan banner, I\u2019ll go up there and pull it down myself,\u201d he seethed during an on-air interview.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Following the game, which the Raps won 131-128<\/a>, DeRozan heard about the five-time Grammy winner\u2019s comments.\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s going to have a long way to climb,\u201d he swiped. \u201cTell him good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n Eagle-eyed fans caught Drake badmouthing the Compton-raised baller throughout the evening. When the three-time All-NBA Team member missed a chance to tie the game at the end, the Hotline Bling\u00a0star could be seen from his courtside seats waving bye-bye.<\/p>\n After the Kings lost, Drake appeared to slag DeRozan further as he was making his way off the court, calling his one-time pal a \u201cp****.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The hatchet doesn\u2019t stay buried<\/p>\n DeRozan hasn\u2019t had much more to say about the fallout, but Drake has continued to taunt his former friend.<\/p>\n At a concert in Australia back in February, Drizzy tossed DeRozan\u2019s Raptors No. 10 jersey off the stage in disgust.<\/p>\n In a leaked song last month, Drake took aim at DeRozan again<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you was part of the team we used to be planning our Mexico trips in the spring \/ we must\u2019ve been dealing in the spur of the moment cause why (Kawhi) did we think you could get us a ring,\u201d Drake raps on\u00a0National Treasure, a not-so-subtle jab at DeRozan\u2019s playoff failures.<\/p>\n \u201cThey bragging about how you went home, the f*** are they on? We threw him away, Pop sent us a real one from Diego and next thing you know we was doing parades,\u201d Drake continues on the track referring to former Raptors president Masai Ujiri making the trade for Leonard.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Drake seemingly takes shots at DeMar DeRozan in recently leaked song:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you was part of the team we used to be planning our Mexico trips in the spring, we must\u2019ve been dealing in the spur of the moment cause why (Kawhi) did we think you could get us a ring.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/ZRkqVtbQ0q<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement 8<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Taking the high road<\/p>\n The leaked snippet didn\u2019t catch DeRozan by surprise. \u201cI knew about it a year ago, so it ain\u2019t nothing new,\u201d said DeRozan, who scored a Raptors franchise record 13,296 points during his tenure.<\/p>\n But he\u2019ll always have fond memories of his time in Toronto and Raptors fans.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I did there, I put my life on the line every single moment I stepped on the court,\u201d he said. \u201cNothing or nobody could ever take that away. I don\u2019t get caught up in shenanigans or all the bull crap that comes with it. At the end of the day, I hoop. I go out there. Every true fan and every person that knows me there knows I represented that place more than anybody that ever came through there.\u201d<\/p>\n mdaniell@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Drake vs. DeMar DeRozan: How a longtime friendship ended with ‘p****’ taunt at a Raptors game<\/p>\n <\/a> Drake bids heartfelt goodbye to Masai Ujiri after Raptors fire team president<\/p>\n <\/a> Drake jokes about being banned from Raptors broadcasts: ‘I was born to commentate’<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Love concerts, but can’t make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off.<\/a> Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n![\"Drake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/qmi_ts20160412ed19_51912262-e1760016229526.jpg\")
Drake shares a laugh with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan after the Toronto Raptors beat Philadelphia 76ers in Toronto. on April 12, 2016. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk \/Toronto SunArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.7.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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DeMar DeRozan hugs Drake in Toronto in November 2016. Photo by Craig Robertson \/Toronto SunAnatomy of a feud<\/p>\n![\"Drake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/qmi_ts20160412ed19.jpg\")
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