DeMar DeRozan Is the Most Valuable Player to the NBA
All-Star Weekend connected cross-generational basketball greats, cramming grey-haired pioneers on the same 91-by-42 hardwood slab as today’s stars. Each player, former and current, soaked in the applause as their name echoed throughout Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. It was a moment of reflection for them and fans.
Personal highlight reels played in our minds with each name called. All those signature moments: Allen Iverson’s famous step over, grainy clips of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s sky hook, and Michael Jordan’s signature jumper over Bryon Russell. So much nostalgia.
The variety of signature moments from these past greats is notable. If we’re to do the same for today’s contemporary stars, would the mental reel be as interesting? It probably includes a Steph Curry deep ball, a James Harden step-back 3 or maybe a thunderous Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk. A gambler would feel good about their odds by guessing a slam or 3-pointer.
Which is precisely why the Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan is the most valuable player to the NBA. But we’ll get to that in a second.
If variety is the spice of life, the NBA’s rack might be barren. Apart from those anecdotes, Shot Tracker noted only 19 percent of shots came for the mid-range in 2018 compared to 33 percent from deep and 48 from in the paint. It’s a sharp plummet from the recent era of shot variety. In 2014, there was a nearly even split (26 percent apiece) between mid-range jumpers and deep balls. In the early 2010s, a highly entertaining time for Bulls and NBA basketball, splits were about 31 percent mid-range, 23 percent 3-pointers and 46 percent in the paint.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence NBA viewership in the post-Jordan era peaked between 2011 and 2012. Beyond the typical high-flying aesthetics, the NBA’s brand of basketball, with its strong shot variety was at its most interesting.
Mid-range scoring maestros like Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant thrived. Only one of the top 30 scorers in the league (Deron Williams) averaged more than six 3-point attempts per game, according to the NBA’s database. Nine of the top 15 scoring leaders are chucking up deep balls beyond that rate this season. Those 15 can further be separated by predominately paint scorers- Antetokounmpo, James, Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant and Joel Embiid — while the rest earn a hefty chunk of points from the perimeter.
The only elite scorer adding spice is DeRozan, with a league-leading 9.4 mid-range jumpers taken and 4.7 made. The next closest in attempts (excluding Durant due to games played) on that 15-player list is Embiid with 6.2. DeRozan’s juxtaposition to the rest of the league really is eye popping; none of the top 50 scorers in the NBA are shooting fewer 3-pointers than the Bulls’ 6-foot-6 guard.
Instead, DeRozan dices defenses with an array of fadeaways and 17-foot jumpers that he hits with such frequency it makes you wonder if he has super-human depth perception. Like other elite scorers, he’s discovered rulebook loopholes that result in plenty of free throw attempts. And he is muscular finisher in the paint.
It’s a popular narrative: DeRozan defies the number crunchers who view mid-range jumpers like viruses while treating three-pointers like antidotes. But he not only is successfully bucking trends. DeRozan carries the flag for basketball’s recent bygone era, one that saw its best ratings since the Jordan era.
That’s precisely why DeRozan’s value to professional basketball in America is unparalleled. When NBA defectors claim they can’t watch the 3-point-happy style, league apologists can point to DeRozan and say, “Look, he still does it your way.” If the NBA wants to pull these basketball refugees back in, more players excelling with DeRozan’s style might be beneficial.
It’s probably a fringe audience the league likely doesn’t need to survive. But it never hurts to have a little more variety.
