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Jamal Collier, ESPN
CHICAGO — DeMar DeRozan spent only three seasons playing for the Chicago Bulls, but after receiving a standing ovation and video tribute during Sunday’s 124-119 victory — his first game back at the United Center since signing with the Sacramento Kings in the offseason — DeRozan said the connections he made with the organization during his tenure made him feel as if he spent 10 years in Chicago.
“Stuff like that goes a long way, man,” he said after the game about the video package and reception from fans. “I’m always humbled by any type of appreciation from my time anywhere.”
DeRozan signed with the Bulls before the start of the 2021-22 season and instantly flourished. He averaged 25.5 points, his highest scoring total with any team, and 5.1 assists on 49.6% shooting during his three seasons in Chicago, including two All-Star appearances and a top-10 MVP finish in 2022.
He quickly became the leader of the Bulls both on the court, closing out close games down the stretch in the fourth quarter, and in the locker room, mentoring the team’s young talent, inviting players such as Coby White and Patrick Williams to train with him during the offseason in Los Angeles.
“The first moment I came here I tried to give my all to this organization, to the city and I think it showed,” DeRozan said. “Genuinely putting everything into representing the Bulls. When I came here, I just think it showed I invited the culture of Chicago, everything. So it showed, I think when people see that, you get the genuine reaction in return.”
DeRozan, 35, is now on his fourth team after being sent to the Kings in a sign-and-trade during the offseason after he and the Bulls could not come to terms on a long-term contract. DeRozan also wanted a chance to win at this point in his career and Sacramento is starting to put things together, winning its seventh consecutive contest Sunday.
And DeRozan was a key contributor down the stretch vs. Chicago, a sight the Bulls became familiar with the past few seasons. He scored nine points in the fourth quarter to finish with 21 points and three assists in the Kings win.
“Toronto will always be No. 1, but I got to put Chicago second,” DeRozan said. “To kind of have a renewed ambition coming to Chicago. I just remember the first meeting I had with [Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley] and them just saying, ‘Come here and just be you.’
“For that to translate to being an All-Star to doing all the incredible things I did here just shows you, you just stay with something, it’ll repay you.”
The Bulls signed DeRozan to pair him with Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, both also former All-Stars, while Lonzo Ball ran the offense at point guard. Ball got injured midway through their first season and missed the next 2½ seasons. The All-Star trio played together for three seasons, but produced only one playoff appearance, a first-round loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022 playoffs in five games.
DeRozan acknowledged it was bittersweet to match up against the Bulls when his former running mates are performing at a high level individually. Ball made his first start Sunday in three years to replace an injured Coby White (neck) and knocked down five 3-pointers. LaVine finished with 36 points, his sixth straight 30-point game (joining DeRozan and Michael Jordan as the only Bulls in history to do so). Vucevic is shooting a career best in both field goal percentage and 3-point percentage.
So DeRozan said it was only natural to look at those results and wonder, “What if?”
“Without a doubt. Definitely gives you that thought because that’s why we came here all together, play together to have those type of moments,” DeRozan said. “But it didn’t go as we expected it to go.”