DeRozan poised to hit 20K points in his former home
DeMar DeRozan hasn't had many quiet scoring games since joining the Bulls, but he took a back seat in Wednesday's victory over Indiana and finished with 17 points.
At the start of the night, DeRozan needed 24 to reach 20,000 points for his career. His scoring line means the milestone is now likely to happen Friday in his former home of San Antonio, in front of legendary coach Gregg Popovich.
"Yeah, I'm saving it for Pop," DeRozan said with a laugh. "I think it's just cool to have such a milestone record in front of me, going back to a place where I spent some time, learned so much from.
"A place that embraced me with nothing but love. It was definitely a learning curve for me in my career, at a critical time in my career. Pop really helped me out a lot. I think it would be cool to be able to go back and do it there."
DeRozan admitted he was crushed when he was traded from Toronto, his original NBA team, to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard in 2018. But three years with the Spurs turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
"The way the fans embraced me, it was unbelievable," DeRozan said. "It's an especially intimate connection I had with the fans there, just the way everything went. To get traded there, it was like I didn't miss a beat. They accepted me, they allowed me to be me. It was definitely an awesome experience, even last year when we went back, the reception I got."
At the moment, DeRozan ranks at No. 50 on the NBA's all-time scoring list and he'll be the 50th player to hit the 20,000 mark. The list includes six other players that are active this season - LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook. Chris Paul and Steph Curry.
"There's only so many in NBA history, and he's going to get a lot more in his career," Bulls teammate Zach LaVine said. "I've said this enough, I think DeMar DeRozan is a Hall of Fame player. He's somebody a lot of guys look up to. I remember coming into the league looking up to him as well."
DeRozan is sitting between Antawn Jamison and John Stockton on the career scoring list. Considering DeRozan scored the most points of his career last season with the Bulls, finishing in the top 20 when he's done playing seems realistic. Durant currently ranks No. 20 with 25,655 points and counting.
"Just being a kid from Compton, my only goal was to make it out of Compton and have a better life," DeRozan said. "Whatever that was, I didn't know. Even when I got to the NBA. I wanted to be a guy that lasts, that's around for a long time. To be here, it would be something I never would have imagined.
"Me being the basketball fan and junkie that I am, 20,000 don't come too often. Just being in that position, it's definitely crazy."
The Bulls are off to a 3-2 start, with quality wins over Miami and Boston. They're facing another tough back-to-back this weekend with San Antonio on Friday, followed by a home date with Philadelphia on Saturday.
LaVine, who is managing his workload after having knee surgery in the spring, said he hasn't decided yet if he'll sit out one of the games this weekend. The Spurs were thought to be one of the teams trying hardest for the No. 1 draft pick after trading Dejounte Murray to Atlanta, but they've already beaten Philadelphia and Minnesota on the road.
Friday's game will be special for DeRozan, but he says they all are now that he's 33.
"Some of my favorite players I grew up watching I had an opportunity to play against them on their way out and that kind of put a lot of stuff in perspective for me," he said. "I remember being a rookie. To be here still, playing at a high level, having fun, competing, it's beyond an honor for me."
LaVine promised to be ready with flowers and a hat tip when DeRozan scores point No. 7.
"True professional on and off the court," LaVine said. "A better person than a basketball player. I think that's what stands out and people don't get to see it."
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