Toronto Raptors: 30 greatest players of all-time

2. DeMar DeRozan

Look, it’s okay to look back at the DeRozan era of Raptors basketball and hold nothing but good memories. DeMar led the Raptors to their most successful run of seasons in the regular season and in the playoffs, he became an elite offensive player without ever really adopting a 3-point shot.

It’s also okay to look back on the DeRozan of Raptors basketball and feel like the glass was half-empty at times.

DeRozan was an incredible regular season player and while he did have some success in the playoffs, it wasn’t really enough to fall back on to with great confidence.

We saw DeMar disappear all too often when it mattered most and while he did become an elite offensive force he never really did take that next step and adopt a 3-point shot.

See how something can change in context? It’s hard trying to determine how good someone is, it really is.

DeRozan was everything the Raptors fans wanted though, he was durable, he holds the record for most games, minutes played and points scored as a Raptor.

He was loyal to an absolute fault, his decision not to entertain any other teams in his free agency period in 2016 ranks as one of my favorite feel-good moments.

He gave us incredible moments, like dunking on Anthony Tolliver so bad that he signed with the Timberwolves, he set the franchise record for points scored in a game with 52 and he even came up big in the playoffs when the team desperately needed him, scoring 32 points to help dispatch the Milwaukee Bucks in a six-game series.

DeRozan had all the tools to put it together in the playoffs — we saw it. We just didn’t see it enough.

A lot of Raptors fans will look at DeRozan as the greatest Raptor of all-time. Others will say he’s more likely to rank third in such a list. For argument’s sake, DeRozan slots in nicely at number two here.

However you choose to remember him, just remember he was a great Raptor, one of the best.