Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan has revealed how he takes inspiration from Michael Jordan’s Wizards era. Jordan played for the Washington Wizards from 2001-2003 and brought his best to the court despite being at the fag end of his career.
Furthermore, the legendary player played with a bad knee during his stint with the Wizards. Jordan averaged 22.9 points per game in 60 matches of the 2001-02 season whereas he averaged 20 in 82 games in the next season.
“If you sit and just watch Wizards [Michael Jordan] and see how incredible he was from 38 to 40 years old, the way he scored the ball and the way he was able to create his shots from the post, from the elbow,” said DeRozan while speaking on Paul George’s Podcast P.
“Off one dribble, off two dribbles. Stop, pull-up, how physical he was in the post, how he was able to create contact and still get to the basket. He wasn’t as athletic as he was, but still being able to finish over guys,” he continued.
“If he’s doing this at this age, let me figure out how to master these things that he’s doing. You don’t see everybody doing that… He was incredible on a bad knee,” said DeRozan.
Jordan is regarded as one of the best basketball players ever and dominated the opposition. MJ won five NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls in his glorious career. The talisman always had the hunger to succeed at the top level and always gave his 120% on the court.
Meanwhile, Paul George will play for the Philadelphia 76ers whereas DeMar DeRozan will suit up for the Sacramento Kings. Both the players also opened up on the challenge of playing for a new team.
“I know for me, being away from my kids is the toughest,” DeRozan said. “Being away from them, missing a lot of, if it’s a daddy-daughter dance. Or, if my son has an appointment. You miss certain things, it kind of stings in the moment.”
“For me it’s like, my kids have been [in Los Angeles] five years. When we first came here, my oldest was five, so she had just started schooling, she just met her friends, got her group. Now the toughest part of that is like, taking her from all of that and moving her to Philadelphia,” explained George.
