Great basketball players have come and gone, but DeMar DeRozan says only Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan have that mythical aura.
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DeMar DeRozan is a multiple-time selection to the NBA All-Star Game and to All-NBA teams. He’s one of the deadliest mid-range scorers the league has seen over the past decade.
DeRozan came into the league with a little bit of hype, but not lofty expectations. Many expected the Compton-born lad to top out as an athletic slasher. Few people saw him developing such a deep bag of tricks and moves as a scorer.
DeMar kept working after entering the league, and by his 4th season, the results had begun to show. Over the years, he’s definitely incorporated a Kobe-like quality to his finesse and touch. And Kobe was, you guessed it – this LA native’s idol growing up.
‘Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are the only 2 people who have that aura’: DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan is a free agent this summer, and there are tons of questions surrounding where he’ll end up playing next season. He went on the Club Shay Shay Podcast with Shannon Sharpe recently to clarify his expectations from free agency.
As expected, Shannon raised the question of how Kobe Bryant influenced DeMar as a person and as a basketball player. DeRozan had only the highest compliments reserved for him and Michael Jordan:
“It was surreal. I mean, it’s only 2 people I’ve been around that had that type of aura. Where it was just kinda like, godly. It was him and Jordan. These 2 people, I swear.”
“Every time I walked on the court it was just a different type of feeling, you know. Like I don’t even know what it was, but I had the opportunity at 15 to work with Kobe. And every summer we used to play run games at LMU out here in LA.”
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“So I was 16, 17, 18 and was always like…it just didn’t feel real. So by the time I got to the league, I kinda knew what to expect, but it was definitely a different atmosphere.”
