Jeremiah Griffith 
Demar DeRozan has been red hot for the entirety of the first half of this NBA season, and his hot streak continues. To start the year, he made history by becoming the only player to hit consecutive game-winning shots, hitting one against Indiana Pacers, and the second against Washington Wizards.
Now he has broken another record, eclipsing Wilt Chamberlain, as the first player in NBA history to score 35 points while shooting better than 50 percent from the field in seven consecutive games. Amazing, right? DeRozan has also scored at least 30 points in eight straight games; the longest such streak since “Black Jesus” was in a 1996 Bulls uniform–Michael Jordan. In addition, DeRozan is tied with Joel Embiid for the longest streak of 30 plus points by a player this season.
The Bulls hold the number one seed. DeRozan is clearly in the zone, and he knows it. “Just to be in the record books along with staples of basketball history — [I’m] speechless,” DeRozan said following Wednesday’s game. “As a kid, as a fan of the history of the game, being in the league as long as I’ve been in the league, things like that continue to make me even more humble.”
“It’s something I’ll never take for granted,” DeRozan added. “And the crazy thing is, I feel like I missed eight easy shots I normally would have made. I felt like I had a bad shooting night, honestly.”
DeRozan is playing MVP level basketball, propelling his team to the tops ranks of the Eastern Conference, and people are finally taking notice.
On Twitter, Kevin Durant and the rest of the NBA community gave respect to number 11 to show his appreciation for the way DeRozan plays the game:
Thank you for setting a great example and playing the game with supreme skill @DeMar_DeRozan
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) February 17, 2022
HISTORY.
DeMar DeRozan becomes the first player in NBA history with seven straight games of 35+ points and 50% or better shooting. pic.twitter.com/5Brb0ENCEv
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 17, 2022
DeMar DeRozan is the first player in NBA history with 35 points and 50% shooting in seven straight games 🪣 pic.twitter.com/HWlP5sVYcf
— ESPN (@espn) February 17, 2022
Zach LaVine just interrupted DeMar DeRozan’s postgame press conference to say See you in Cleveland, MVP.
They’re on same flight to All-Star weekend.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) February 17, 2022
DeRozan now heads to Cleveland for All-Star Weekend as he’s set to start in the All-Star game for Team LeBron.
By Jeremiah Griffith, Junior, Noble Academy
Instagram: theballtalk01
