Durable DeRozan set to play in 1,000th career game originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The next time DeMar DeRozan takes the court—and it’s an extremely safe bet that’s for Monday’s home game against the Atlanta Hawks—he will play his 1,000th career game.
“Really?” DeRozan said. “Wow, I mean, I didn’t even think of that.”
Now, in DeRozan’s defense, those words came in a sitdown with NBC Sports Chicago in San Francisco from early December, when DeRozan sat at 978 games.
But in a lot of ways, the answer wouldn’t surprise if it came following the Chicago Bulls’ game in Paris, which marked his 999th. Because in DeRozan’s mind, the next game is always the destination and the focus.
The milestones and honors that pile up along the way? They’re just byproducts of a work ethic and appreciation for sports that DeRozan learned from his parents.
“My Dad was always constantly watching sports. I wanted to be like my Dad, so I was conscious of him playing attention to sports,” DeRozan said in the sitdown. “I remember my Dad getting the newspaper every morning. And I’d look at the box scores of who did what. I always wanted to know what was what. My love for the history of the game started from then.”
DeRozan would listen to Chick Hearn broadcast Los Angeles Lakers game, consumed with everything the gold and purple did.
And now DeRozan is making history of his own this season. In October, he became the 50th player in NBA history and 54th when ABA stats are factored in to reach 20,000 points.
After his next game, he will be the 143rd NBA player and 151st overall counting ABA action to play in 1,000 games.
“You just saying that is a humbling thing, especially for me understanding the history of the game. Some players don’t the chance to even come close to that,” DeRozan said. “Just to have that opportunity to get there—knock on wood—it’s a helluva milestone. It’s a lot of games.
Story continues
“I have never, ever taken this for granted. That’s one thing I stress to the younger guys now. I look back on my career, the amount of players I played with that just kind of suddenly…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/load-management-era-bulls-demar-132154065.html?src=rss
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2023-01-21 13:21:54
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