SACRAMENTO, Calif. – When DeMar DeRozan woke up Tuesday morning with his first practice of the 2024-25 NBA season on the horizon, it finally hit him. The six-time NBA All-Star was a real member of the Sacramento Kings.

“Waking up in another (city), driving here, it really hit me,” DeRozan told Andscape after Kings practice on Tuesday. “Everything was just different. Landscape leaving the house. Drive. Realizing that rattling it, I’m trying to recollect learn how to get to the locker room once I get to the arena.

“Everything was so new and fresh that I was just trying to get my head around it. And sometimes it was good. It’s a new feeling. Everything will be new to me for the next few weeks.”

DeRozan sent shockwaves throughout the NBA when he agreed to a sign-and-trade on July 6 that sent him to the Kings from the Chicago Bulls, forward Harrison Barnes from Sacramento to the San Antonio Spurs and guard Chris Duarte, two second-round picks and money to the Bulls . DeRozan thus signed a three-year contract value $74 million. The 16-year NBA veteran averaged 24 points, 5.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 79 regular-season games with Chicago last season.

DeRozan is also from Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles. By signing with the Kings, he has a 90-minute flight away from his five children, mother and other members of the family and family members in Los Angeles. This is the former USC star’s first game west of Texas in his NBA profession, which began in 2009.

“It means a lot to me,” DeRozan said of being in California. “Even one in all my daughters asks on daily basis when she will be able to come over – even a day where she could just come for a day, spend time with me and are available back. Knowing this offers her excitement. This makes me extremely blissful.

“And I definitely look forward to the moments where if something happens, if I get a day off, I can go home, see it and come back the same day. So I’m looking forward to that more than anything.”

DeRozan has been busy leading as much as the start of Kings training camp, promoting his book in the United States and Toronto.

DeRozan wrote about his public battle with depression, hoping it might encourage those in must seek help, including African Americans who’re less prone to seek mental health treatment. According to . DeRozan also recently spoke to the NBA’s rookie class and sent each member a replica of his book with a handwritten note.

“It was definitely a new feeling for me because I had never experienced anything like that before,” DeRozan said of writing the book. “(I) Never expected something like this. It was the first time, but it was good because he even helped me with so many things that I realized that I had to find a way for myself and work on myself to be able to continue as a friend, father and leader. So it was definitely something I challenged myself to do. But it was hard at first.”

Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown asked DeRozan to discuss his “phenomenal” book before the first practice of the season. DeRozan spoke for about 10 minutes. Holding a replica of the book, Brown told the media after practice that each Kings player also received a replica.

Brown said mental health issues are an actual problem amongst African Americans. According to McLean Hospital in 2024, roughly 25% of African Americans are in search of mental health in comparison with 40% of white Americans. Suicide is the third commonest reason for death in 2024 for Black men ages 15 to 24, in line with the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

“He talked to the team about his thought process in writing the book,” Brown said. “During the game, he also told the team why he did it. It’s all about him and letting people know that everybody has had problems. Even though they play in the NBA, they’re still human and undergo ups and downs in life similar to you or anyone else. And it’s okay to be vulnerable whenever you’re going through (life)…

“That’s why the key words for me were ‘be vulnerable.’ In our (African American) community, you don’t cry, you don’t go to the doctor. And that’s a stigma. For him to open it up and talk to our group today and have it in the book is an amazing thing to be a part of.”

DeRozan is a proven scorer and is known for enjoying closer games. After practice, Brown told the media that he was also pleasantly surprised with his passing skills. Brown and Kings guard De’Aaron Fox also was impressed with DeRozan’s patience and efficiency when attempting to rating.

“He’s not just a scorer, he’s a basketball player,” Brown said. “I let you know, a few of the passes he made (Tuesday), I didn’t think I used to be going to get there a few times. But he never panicked when he played. He played at his own pace. He acted fast when he desired to act fast. He walked slowly when he desired to go slowly.

“He kept the defense off balance. And when someone was open, he made the right pass… The luxury of having another guy who knows how to play, who can pass, dribble and shoot – and more importantly, wants to pass – that will help us be a little more dynamic on the offensive side of the pitch.”

Fox said: “He attracts loads of attention, especially when he has the ball. Even though he’s getting all this attention, he’s still capable of get to his spots and still put the ball in the basket. And when three or 4 guys go down, you get loads of open shots.

In addition to DeRozan, the Kings have a talented lineup that features two-time center Domantas Sabonis and Fox, a 2023 All-Star. The Kings even have a possible rising star in third-year forward Keegan Murray and proven veteran scorers Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk. The Kings broke a 17-year playoff drought by making the 2023 playoffs, but didn’t secure a return to the postseason during last season’s NBA Play-in Tournament.

The Western Conference is stuffed with potential rivals: the Dallas Mavericks, 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. But DeRozan says the Kings have the talent to make the Western Conference Finals. The Kings have not played in the Western Finals since 2002.

“The passion, the drive of the coaching staff, from the players to the fan base, from top to bottom,” DeRozan said. “The guys wish to win. You saw where they were two years ago. The talent that they had there and even last 12 months before the injuries. Everything is possible. I believe the way we worked (Tuesday), the confidence the guys have and the way I’m approaching this summer, going into this season, has given me the most confidence.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who turns 39 in December, enters the season as the profession scoring leader and the league’s oldest energetic player. DeRozan is not yet one in all the oldest energetic NBA players – he is already 35 years old, but he is the oldest player of the Kings team and only one in all two players over 30 years old (Alex Len, 31 years old).

DeRozan has played not less than 74 games in each of the last three seasons. In his fifteenth season in the NBA, he also played the highest number in the league: 2,989 minutes and 37.8 minutes per game. Thanks to James’ words of wisdom on his offseason training plan, DeRozan hopes to have one other healthy season with loads of minutes in Sacramento.

“I’m grateful that I continue to do what I do at a high level,” DeRozan said. “I’m proud and I need to be unique and break this age barrier where people keep saying I’m old and slowing down. Last 12 months I led the league in minutes (per game) and I desired to play more. As for me, I just keep in great shape. I maintain my body. I get enough rest. I do nothing but loosen up with my children and jump.

“It means loads to me that I’m still playing. I like the guys who’ve played at a high level for thus long. I take a look at a man like Bron (James). It’s amazing what he does and the way he does so well. He takes care of himself. I remember one evening that summer we were playing cards and he was working on himself. This just goes to indicate why he has been playing for thus long. It’s amazing. So just steal stuff like that because you wish to have longevity and play at a high level, so other people feel that when you maintain yourself, you may play so long as you wish.

DeRozan shall be 38 years old when his contract with the Kings expires. But will he play until he’s forty? Well, that is where he drew the line.

“No,” DeRozan said with a smile.