Hustle & Motivate

DEMAR DEROZAN grinded away to become one of the League’s elite scorers. With his status as the greatest player in Toronto Raptors history solidified, the 28-year-old Cali native now has only one goal on his mind: bringing the Larry O’Brien trophy to The 6.

- Marcel Mutoni

ON A COLD AND windy late February night, DeMar DeRozan and a small entourage sauntered into the Toronto Raptors’ practice facility for his first solo SLAM cover shoot.

The 28-year-old, four-time All-Star posed for hundreds of pictures, threw a football around with his friends, calmly answered questions, refused to big up himself, and said the Raptors can win the NBA title this season.

So, how did we get here? How did DeRozan establish himself as a bonafide superstar, lead the Raptors to the very top of the standings in the Eastern Conference (as of press time) and establish his team as an unlikely championship contender?

Through sheer hard work, for one.

Dwane Casey, the Raptors’ head coach since June 2011, recalls encountering DeRozan for the first time as a “snotty-nosed second-year guy” with all the tools and talent in the world.

Casey credits DeRozan’s evolution mostly to him being a gym rat. DeMar routinely gets a workout in late in the evening and has added critical elements to his game each offseason.

Now he’s a perennial All-Star “who should be in the conversation for MVP,” says Casey. “He has made himself into a superstar.”

Chris Farr has been DeRozan’s trainer since the 2009 NBA Draft. Farr says the Compton, CA, native typically doesn’t like working out with others, which DeMar confirmed.

DeRozan prefers the intimacy of an empty gym. He doesn’t care for others seeing just how hard he goes. He’s also at a point in his career where a mental edge holds more value than anything physical.

Farr, who also trains Damian Lillard, convinced the two All-Stars to train together last summer, the plan being that Dame’s superior outside marksmanship would force DeMar to concentrate a little bit more and get his competitive juices flowing.