DeMar DeRozan Is an All-Star Starter for the Very First Time
Here’s a tiny, microscopic sliver of good news on an otherwise dark and foreboding day: DeMar DeRozan will be a starter at the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. It’s the third time the seventh-year Raptors swingman has made the Eastern All-Star squad, but just the first time he’s been voted into the starting lineup, which this season was determined by a combination of fan, media and player voting.
DeRozan’s starting spot feels like a sweet serving of justice, given that for most of the fan-voting process, he sat in third place among Eastern Conference guards behind Cleveland’s streaky Kyrie Irving and Chicago’s creaky Dwyane Wade. But Mr. I Am Toronto has more than earned this latest accolade, turning in the strongest half-season of his career thus far. Thanks to his dogged devotion to the unfashionable midrange jumper and some fancy footwork that Kevin Durant recently deemed “probably the best I’ve seen in a long time,” the Compton native is averaging a career-high 28.2 points and has helped lead Toronto to its best midseason record in franchise history.
Point is: we’re proud of you, Deebo. Congratulations. Let’s all raise a digital glass to your success by watching this highlight reel of the countless Kobe-esque fadeaways and Euro-step floaters that have gotten you to this point.
