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DeMar DeRozan opens up about the moment he bonded with Kyle Lowry

Andrew G. Zuber
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 22: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs hugs Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors following an NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on February 22, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

The NBA has not seen many dynamic duos as tight as former Toronto Raptors teammates Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Together from July 2012 through the end of the 2017-18 season, the relationship didn’t start out nearly as rosy and buddy-buddy as the tight knit bond they eventually grew in to.

In fact, it started out with a solid year of them not speaking at all.

“He was on the team the whole year, I didn’t have a conversation with him,” DeRozan told Kevin Hart on the YouTube series Cold As Balls.

“Yeah, but Kyle’s weird” Hart observed.

“He’s a weird a-hole,” DeRozan responded back with a laugh.

The two stuck together through some tough times, and it was the first taste of playoff defeat that solidified their partnership as best buddies.

“When we first made the playoffs, he missed a game-winning layup and laid on the floor,” DeRozan said, referencing Game 7 against the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2014 Playoffs. “I got on the floor with him and said ‘I don’t give a shit if you made it or missed it, I’m riding with you no matter what.’ and ever since then, that’s my dog.”

TORONTO, ON- MAY 4 - DeMar DeRozan consols Kyle Lowry after the Toronto Raptors lose 104-103 to the Brooklyn Nets in game 7 of their first round NBA playoff series in Toronto. May 4, 2014. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON- MAY 4 - DeMar DeRozan calls this moment with Kyle Lowry the galvanizing point of their friendship. May 4, 2014. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

DeRozan, of course, has been a member of the San Antonio Spurs since the summer of 2018, when he was traded in a package for Kawhi Leonard and Jakub Poeltl.

The rest of the video, filmed with both Hart and DeRozan chilling in an ice bath, delves into some of the other big aspects of his career, including acclimating himself to Toronto and his work as a mental health advocate for professional athletes.

“All-Star Weekend in L.A. I was hyped. Seeing all my homies when in reality I just want to see my kids,” DeRozan said in regards to speaking up about dealing with depression. “I’m seeing myself on the side of the Ritz-Carlton, all over posters, when I want to see my kids. I’m tired of this shit.”

Kevin Love is among the athletes that credit DeRozan for being willing to start the conversation about depression and issues that high-profile athletes sometimes struggle with.

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