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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - DeMar DeRozan was in high school when he first met Kobe Bryant, one of his childhood heroes.

It was just over a decade ago, though the years have flown by for the Toronto Raptors' star. He remembers it like it was yesterday. Bryant, in his mid-20s at the time, was about halfway into what would become a 20-year career. He had already won three of his five NBA championships and was on the verge of claiming a couple of scoring titles. He was the best player in the world.

"He had a camp, a two-guard camp, for all of the top-25 two guards in the country," DeRozan recalled. "From there, the relationship grew, playing against him in the summer league and in the summer. It just carried over."

On Sunday, Bryant announced his retirement from basketball at the end of the season. DeRozan didn't learn the news until after his team's 107-102 loss to Phoenix. There aren't many topics he - or any other player, for that matter - feel like discussing at length coming off a disappointing defeat, but the 26-year-old guard had a big smile on his face as he was asked question after question about his favourite player. He spoke about the game for two minutes. He talked about Kobe for more than five.

DeRozan was six when Bryant was acquired by Los Angeles at the 1996 draft. Growing up in Compton, Calif., he idolized the Lakers' young superstar from day one. By the time he came face-to-face with Bryant, shared a court with him and picked his brain, the feeling was surreal.

"I've tried to emulate and learn so much from him ever since I was a kid," DeRozan said. "Watching every single game growing up in Los Angeles, having a chance to [meet] him and learn from him, from conversations even when I was in high school, from playing against him, competing against him, being in big games with him."

"It’s crazy. The knowledge that he tends to give me every time I got the chance to be around him, especially at a young age, carrying over to the league, it was definitely an honour. I tried to listen as much as possible, soak in as much as I could all of the time. It’s crazy how much time flies."

Toronto selected DeRozan with the ninth-overall pick in 2009. Naturally, he's borrowed things from Bryant's game over the years, namely his footwork in the post.

In seven seasons, he's faced Bryant nine times, winning four of those meetings. Which one stands out most in his mind? Without hesitation, DeRozan pointed to an overtime loss at Staples Center in March of 2013. With his team down by as many as 15 points, Bryant hit the tying three-pointer at the end of regulation and sealed the comeback in overtime en route to a 41-point, 12-assist evening.

It was the last time DeRozan and the Raptors saw that version of Bryant. He would tear his Achilles a month later and hasn't been the same player since.

Like the rest of Bryant's many fans, it has been tough for DeRozan to watch his hero deteriorate on the court. Still, he insists Bryant’s resume speaks for itself.

"It don’t matter [how his career ends]," DeRozan said. "That man has five rings, 17 all-stars, MVP. There’s nothing he hasn’t done. It’s just Father Time catching up with him, injuries catching up with him this past year. People will appreciate it when he’s away from the game."

Bryant’s legacy is a complicated one, both on and off the court. Third on the NBA's all-time scoring list - behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone, just ahead of Michael Jordan, a player he modelled his game after - Bryant is one of the fiercest competitors the league has ever seen.

Often stubborn to a fault, he demands the best from himself and everyone around him. As such, he's not for everyone. Fans, like many of his former teammates, love him or hate him. He carries himself with a certain arrogance that some people find unbecoming. Still, his work ethic, drive and passion for his craft are undeniable, and his peers - particularly those, like DeRozan, who share those qualities - respect him for it.

"I think a lot of people don’t understand Kobe," DeRozan said. "They look at Kobe like he’s an [expletive]. He’s not. He’s just one of them guys who want every single thing out of the game of basketball. He’s sacrificed so much to do that. I think a lot of the time people don’t appreciate that side of him. My experience with him, he’s a hell of a guy. People won’t realize that until he’s away from the game."

"He has that killer instinct, that grit that you don't see too often. He demands that presence every time he steps out on the court and it's hard to find guys like that, that have that dominant presence. You just see it in his eyes. So with that, you've got to give a guy credit because that just don't happen overnight, it comes with work ethic and somebody that's really passionate and wanting everything out of the game of basketball."

Not surprisingly, DeRozan remembers exactly where he was when Bryant dropped 81 points - second-most in league history - on Toronto in 2006, four seasons before he became a Raptor.

"I remember I was sitting in the house watching that game," he said. "And it felt like I was playing a video game."

The 37-year-old has had some memorable moments against the Raptors franchise. In 32 meetings, Bryant is averaging 27.2 points - his fourth-highest mark versus any opponent. However, injuries have prevented him from making the last few trips north of the border. He hasn't played at the Air Canada Centre since shooting 10-for-32 in a losing effort back on Jan. 20, 2013.

Bryant's final visit to Toronto is scheduled for next Monday but, with his team playing in Detroit the night before, there's a chance the Lakers could opt to rest him in the second leg of a back-to-back. Playing in front of what's certain to be a sellout crowd at the ACC, DeRozan is hoping for this one last opportunity to watch his hero up close.