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Vince Carter was great for a time, impossible to ignore, his real claim to fame being that he became part of American television history when he won a slam dunk competition. He didn’t win much else as a Raptor. He scored 27.6 points a game in brilliant fashion by his third NBA season, was down to 20.6 in his fifth year in Toronto and, in his I’m-out-of-here year, he averaged a rather disgraceful 15.9 points.

He was a great stock to own at a time, full of excitement and drive before he became a diminishing asset, then a disruptive force, then traded in a deal that set the Raptors back a bunch of years. To honour him is to ignore his childish ways and the manner in which he squandered his talents and injured the team he played for.

And that’s what makes DeRozan so different yet so fascinating. He has never had Carter’s magic or gifts. He isn’t a genuine super-duper-star. And he’s never had that kind of transience about him. But he’s the kind of athlete that Toronto has historically warmed up to, even if in this case it has taken longer than usual.

That’s part of who DeRozan is. He isn’t the kind of player you can’t take your eyes off of. He’s a worker, who cares desperately about getting better.

The other day, Jeff Weltman and Masai Ujiri were talking about how hard one of Orlando’s players works. Then Weltman, the former Raptors GM, said it: “He’s like DeMar.”

“He’s a complete basketball junkie,” Ujiri, Raptors team president, said of DeRozan. “I’ve never seen anything like it, really. We’re lucky to have him.”

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

DeRozan never stops working at his game and not everything comes naturally. He never stops changing and growing and when someone from management or the coaching staff tears into him, he doesn’t sulk or take it personally or put his head down and walk away. He embraces the need to be better, the way he has embraced this team and this city and the challenge or making a difference in a league that tends to ignore the Raptors.

“There’s no excuses with DeMar, no ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ or ‘I’ll be back later.’” Ujiri said. “That’s not DeMar. He doesn’t take shortcuts.”

This season, DeRozan has added the three-point shot to his arsenal and he’s shooting 36.8% from three, which is not far behind his pal Kyle Lowry at 38.6. The ability to ability to shoot from three and move the ball — he has more assists than ever before — has opened up the court for the 26-10 Raptors, the best record this team has ever had through 36 games.