(AllHipHop News) NBA star DeMar DeRozan has become one of the central parts of the Toronto Raptors’ playoff runs over the last few years. But before the Compton native was a millionaire professional basketball player, DeRozan was a teenager on an AAU team sponsored by Percy “Master P” Miller.

The AAU experience led to DeRozan becoming close with Master P’s rapper/actor son Romeo Miller, and he was able to see a Hip Hop mogul’s lavish style of living firsthand.

“I got to see both worlds. You see that lifestyle early on and you realize, ‘This is what it is?’” DeRozan told Yahoo Sports. “I already had my mindset when I had nothing. It’s cool to have all that, but it’s all about the work and the grind to get to that.”

 The 26-year-old former USC guard is hoping to be selected to play in the NBA All-Star game in Toronto on February 14. Even if DeRozan does get recognized as one of the most productive players in the league again this season, he still recalls on advice from Master P about how to handle fame and success.

“Never get caught up in the lifestyle, because you can have it all one day and lose it the next,” stated DeRozan. “[Master P] really taught me that early on. So I think it, it helped me now, because no matter what I get, or how much I have now, I still remember what it feels like to have nothing.”