Kings guard Keon Ellis agrees with Kendrick Lamar when it comes to DeMar DeRozan's previous tenure with the Toronto Raptors.
After DeRozan hit the game-winning shot in Sacramento's 129-128 overtime win against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday at American Airline Center, Ellis referenced the rapper's lyric about the Kings star in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Shiiid, I’m glad DeRoz’ came home too 😂😂🔥🔥🔥
— Keon Ellis (@Tyrese_Ellis00) February 11, 2025
Lamar famously mentions DeRozan in his diss track "Not Like Us," which takes aim at Canadian rapper Drake -- a staunch Raptors supporter. DeRozan, who was born in Compton, still was on the Bulls when Lamar dropped the single after Toronto traded the six-time NBA All-Star to Chicago in 2018 for Kawhi Leonard.
"I'm glad DeRoz' came home, y'all didn't deserve him neither," Lamar raps to Drake -- and Toronto -- in the song. DeRozan even appears in Lamar's music video for the song, which he reflected on in an interview with The Sacramento Bee's Jason Anderson last summer.
“It was fun to be a part of [‘Not Like Us’],” DeRozan told Anderson. “For that moment, it was so much bigger than what people look at it as a beef between [Lamar] and Drake. It brought our whole city together in a different type of light where there wasn’t no issues, no violence. Everybody was coming together in a peaceful manner and that was the beauty out of those moments.”
And after DeRozan joined the Kings in a sign-and-trade deal this past July, it's clear Ellis also is overjoyed by the forward's Raptors departure -- but for basketball-related reasons, not a rap beef. In Monday's game, DeRozan scored 42 points on 15-of-22 shooting, including 4 of 6 from deep, capped by a game-winning jumper with two seconds left in overtime.
U.S. & World
DEMAR FOR THE WIN 🙌
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 11, 2025
pic.twitter.com/2AwEoXmHtF
DeRozan certainly looks at home in Sacramento, and it's clear his Kings teammates feel the same way. And when it comes to losing a hard-fought battle -- whether it be musically or on the court -- the Mavericks and Drake have something in common.
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