Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan’s achievements can’t be denied. Six-time NBA All-Star. Three-time All-NBA team member. Two U.S. national team gold medals (one from the 2014 World Cup and one from the 2016 Summer Olympics). Nine seasons and five playoff runs with the Toronto Raptors. Sixth among all active NBA players on the all-time scoring list. It seems DeRozan has done just about everything an elite player can do at this point in his career, aside from finally winning an NBA championship. (And don’t worry, Kings fans, he has his sights set on bringing one back to Sacramento soon.)
But it was one completely unexpected seven-word tweet in 2018 that catapulted the NBA All-Star into the national spotlight as a mental health advocate: “This depression get the best of me …” It was a stark reminder that while athletes may appear superhuman when we’re watching them drive the lane or posterize someone during a massive dunk, they are, in fact, human beings. That tweet helped boost a conversation about mental health and paved the way for the publication of DeRozan’s new memoir Above the Noise: My Story of Chasing Calm with Dave Zarum.
Andscape recently caught up with DeRozan to discuss the book, the current state of his mental health; the loss of his father, who died in 2021; his late hero, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, the massive pressure on Lakers forward LeBron James’ son Bronny; and yes, even his appearance in rapper Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” video.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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You’ve been talking about your depression and been an advocate for mental health since you dropped that tweet in 2018. Had you considered writing a book sooner, and how did this book eventually come about?
No, I never considered writing a book. I think everything that was going on in my career was in real time. It was genuine. It was authentic. Nothing was premeditated at all. I think everyone witnessed real life emotions and real-life situations and just real-life. Through those situations, opportunities arose that allowed me to find ways to be beneficial to others, and not just myself. Life experiences put me in a place to be able to share my story and hopefully help people.
Was making the book bigger than just your life story and having it be something that could make a difference in a variety of ways important to you going into it?
Yeah, because there’s still so much progress to be made personally. It’s not too often you see guys write a book while they’re still playing. It normally comes out after a career, you know, life after basketball. I’m still going strong in this whole journey. So for me, there’s still so much that I have to go through, that I will go through. My story could be much, much better 15 years from now, but it’s just one of those things. If this is really gonna help somebody, even if it helps one person, that means the world to me.
Do we get a sequel when you finally get that chip?
I hope so. I hope so.
I know you worked with Dave Zarum on bringing this book to life, but I’m curious how the writing and collaborating process was for you. You’re so used to working a specific set of muscles to do your job. How was this flexing a different set of muscles?
It was a learning process. It was something new for me. A lot of patience, a lot of digging deep into detail about certain moments and certain aspects of my life. You know, remembering certain things, bringing a lot of things to light, and connecting a lot of dots. The whole process was definitely new for me. It gets exhausting. And so, anybody who writes books, I commend them, because it’s a tough thing to do.
One of the things that’s most striking to me about the book is just how raw and honest you are. Were you ever worried you were sharing too much, or was being an open book important to you?
It’s always a worry in some aspect because you’re just trying to figure it all out. Sometimes in the midst of figuring it out, you don’t want to add too much chaos into it because it definitely will. It definitely could make things a lot tougher, especially in our society. So we just try to figure out, as human beings, how to be the best person, parent, and everything.
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It’s interesting you say that because when you dropped that tweet in 2018, you say in the book that you didn’t even really think about it. But the world we were living in in 2018 was so different online than it is now. Would you send that tweet again, now, living in the world we’re living in?
I don’t know, man. I don’t know. I think that was the only time I had an impulsive reaction on the internet. And, you know, it’s tough now. It’s much more sensitive on the internet now. I think when I did it, it gave me enough time to process exactly why I did it, and help me figure out the reasoning behind it. And with that came an opportunity for me to help others in that moment. I really, truly believe everything happens for a reason, when they need to happen. So I think that time for me was perfect. I’m not sure if I would do the same now.
In the book, you say how the NBA itself was like, ‘Wow, we’ve never really thought about addressing this before.’ And now there’s a process there. But how much more progress do we still need to make? I think about people like Ja Morant, and what he’s had to go through. And maybe if he had gotten more of the help that he needs, to be more mentally and emotionally prepared for the NBA, he would have made better decisions at times. How hard do you want to work to continue to build that legacy in the NBA of helping folks prepare themselves?
I mean, that’s what it’s all about. When you’re young, you really don’t pay too much attention to what you may be going through emotionally and mentally. You just want to make it. I remember being a kid, where no matter if I got hurt, no matter how bad I was hurt physically, if I see my friends or cousins playing outside, I’m gonna just go outside and play, I don’t care. I didn’t take it into consideration like, ‘“’Man, I just hurt my knee. I’m beaten up. If I go outside and play, I’m gonna make it worse.’ I just wanted to be outside with my friends and family. And I think a lot of that gets swept under the rug.
As you get older, until you start hitting these walls you’re not really understanding why you hit these aggressive walls, or you’re being moody or you’re mad this one day, or you don’t want to do this that day. And it’s because we sweep so much stuff under the rug. So for me, just addressing so much that we go through and putting it out there and hearing stories will enlighten people just to understand themselves, first and foremost, what it is that we’re going through, because we’re all going through something.
I think about the pressure you were under and how that may have affected your mental health, and I wonder about somebody like Bronny James. The dude is talented, but he has so much pressure on him. Add in the fact that most people who experience some type of heart event end up dealing with a lot of anxiety after the fact. What kind of advice would you give to somebody like him in terms of handling his anxiety and the mental health aspects of the game, while also continuing to grow into a better player?
I think for Bronny, he got sort of a cheat code in the sense of being able to grow up and see his dad, one of the biggest figures in the world. I’m pretty sure that the best advice you can get from a person is your father, who’s the biggest in the world. That helps you navigate through so much. But my advice to him is to just enjoy every step of the way. Find things that make you happy. And if that’s the process of just getting better every single day, lean towards that. I’m pretty sure he understands how to not get caught up from a social media standpoint, because his whole life, since he was a kid, we’ve all seen Bronny grow up. Since he was a kid on the sideline watching his dad. So just enjoy it. You work your butt off to be in a place. You have to enjoy that. That’s the only thing that matters, you know?
I’ve been rooting for him ever since he was at USC. I want the kid to be able to look back and know he proved everybody wrong.
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Watching him in the summer league, he looked like he was having a blast.
That’s one heck of a family and to come from that, he’s showing his maturity and his stance towards the game. He works his butt off. You go out there, and have fun. You might see him playing video games when he’s not playing ball, but, you know, he’s still being a kid. That’s what it’s all about.
Speaking of dads, your father is a huge part of this book, and it sounds like he was obviously a huge part of your life as well. What do you miss most about your dad?
Just listening to him. I remember I would sit with my dad and just listen to him give whatever type of advice towards anything. You know, a lot of times, if I was having a rough day, I didn’t necessarily have to tell him I was having a rough day. Sometimes I would just sit there and listen to him talk. He’d break down something we always used to do. I used to get mad about it, but he always used to watch these old, old-school westerns, black-and-white westerns. And I used to just sit there and watch TV, watch them with him, and just listen to him talk. And from that I would take whatever I needed to help me through that day. That would do a lot for me. That’s definitely one thing I do miss.
One of the coolest mental images you get while reading the book, at least for me, was picturing you guys watching your VHS tapes together and them being stacked up in the living room. You mention later in the book how your oldest daughter has gotten more into hoops and watching you play. Obviously, she went viral during that game in Toronto where she kept screaming during your opponent’s free throw attempts, but do you guys watch sports together, or does she really only want to watch daddy play?
She loves to watch me play, but she’s into it now. Even the other day, watching the WNBA skills challenge and 3-point contest. Last year’s All-sSar game, me and my two oldest daughters flew to Vegas. I took them to the All Star game just to check it out. So she just loves watching basketball on her own. I remember when I first understood what ‘one v one’ was, it was her bringing it up to me and I was like, ‘What is that?’ So you know, she’s definitely into it.
It’s really cool to see this meteoric rise on the female side of things as well. There’s so much more opportunity there now, for somebody like her growing up, who may want to play at some point.
That’s the beauty and empowerment of watching women’s sports. I’ve always been a fan of women’s sports, of just how incredibly talented they are and the capabilities that they have. They might not be able to jump high as men and dunk and do all that, but the creativity on that court is amazing. I love to see the sport grow, and I think it’s heading into a great area. You have so many up-and-coming women that are coming into the sport. That’s gonna change the game. That’s just gonna keep bringing more and more light to it.
You talk a lot in the book about Kobe Bryant, and what he meant to you as a player and on a personal level. He was your hero. You’ve been doing this for a long time. You’ve got gold medals and NBA records. How does it feel to know that you might be somebody’s Kobe Bryant from both a basketball and a mental health perspective?
It means a lot. You just try your best to be authentic and be yourself and be an example on how to lead, and maybe inspire somebody. That’s one thing that I always tell people: Kobe was my imagination when I was a kid watching him play. Shooting fadeaways, growing an afro. And sometimes just having an imagination is what gives you hope to be able to make it out. So if I give anybody any type of hope to push through a tough time or be a basketball player, whatever it may be. That’s what I just strive to be. From being the best father I can be, the best friend I can be. It’s a constant thing. I’m just trying to go through this journey and be the best because you never know who you’re affecting. You never know who’s watching in the background.
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You were close to being a Laker once, and Lakers fans felt that could have been the case again this summer. How close were you this time around to joining LeBron and [Anthony Davis] for a run at a title? And did the way that things ended with them the last time you almost became a Laker play a role in your choosing to go to Sacramento instead?
Before I went to Chicago, that was probably the closest I’d ever been in my career [to potentially joining the Lakers]. Three years ago, when I was in free agency. This time it was discussed, but it just didn’t pan out, so I shifted the gears elsewhere. But I think three years ago, that was the closest it’s ever been.
What’s most exciting about being in Sacramento for you?
The fans are amazing. They really want to win and compete. You just feel it. I’m a fan of basketball. I watch everybody. And sometimes, from the outside looking in, you could tell when an organization is really learning and putting everything towards something, and that’s what I really believe when it comes to Sacramento. And that’s what made it so appealing for me to want to go there.
I want to ask you about the thing that’s been going crazy online lately, related to you: Kendrick Lamar. I know you guys have known each other for a long time, but how did all that come together for the Pop Out show and the video?
That’s just his own creative mind of how he works. A lot of times we’d be in a gym together working out, just having conversations and discussions. We’ve got the same weight trainer, so a lot of times, we’d be in a gym just sitting there talking. I mean, a lot of times just talking about life more so than anything. It’s never really been like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna do this …’ It’s just always more so from a friend, family perspective. Just always that calm, positive, uplifting vibe when it comes to that. So with his creative side, he’s gonna go about whatever he’s gonna do his way. And since the beginning, since he started blowing up, I’ve been a supportive person for Kendrick.
You mentioned in another interview that you and Drake are still cool too, but have you heard from him since the Kendrick video dropped?
No, I haven’t talked to him, but at the end of the day, I’m still a Drake fan. I’ve known him my whole career. From a fan perspective: 1) being from Compton and 2) spending so much time in Toronto, nine years in Toronto, and seeing the growth of two of the biggest rappers in the world and me kind of being in the middle of it somewhat is kind of tricky. (Laughs.) But those guys are forever gonna get my support. From a fan perspective, I think we got more than what we all expected when it came to the music part of it. So at the end of the day, those guys gonna continue to do they thing, and still get support from me.
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In another interview you said that Kendrick versus Drake is like MJ versus Kobe.
Yeah, exactly. I’m pretty sure their careers are gonna thrive and they’re still going to continue to be who they are.
Aside from the fishing trips in Montana you talk about in the book and the physical recovery work you do for basketball, what do you do for self-care?
A lot of times, for me, I kind of just step away from everything. Sometimes my phone, sometimes people. I may find moments where I just go sit outside and chill in the backyard. Sometimes at night, I just look in the sky and see if I see a shooting star or try to figure out what’s moving in the sky, without a plan or whatever it may be. So a lot of times it’s me just trying to find the ultimate peace. It used to be that I would go to the beach in the middle of night, walk the beach, and listen to the water. Sometimes I just watch a movie by myself. Sometimes I go eat by myself. The last couple of nights, I’ve just been going out, getting something to eat, finding a corner, sitting there with something to read and have dinner.
Are we gonna get more Dinners with DeMar?
Yeah, for sure. Hopefully you’ll hear more about it by the start of the season.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Give yourself grace. I didn’t understand it in the moment when I got that advice, but through the times, I realized when things got rough, or I was going through a rough patch, don’t be so hard on yourself. Give yourself some grace and take a moment. Because we are all going through something. Don’t beat yourself up too much, and not have enough energy to get through whatever it is. You need to get through.
Scott Neumyer is a writer from central New Jersey whose work has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, GQ, Esquire, Parade magazine, and many other publications. You can follow him on Twitter @scottneumyer.
