NEWSLETTER
DeMar DeRozan joins Coby White as an award-season snub.
The NBA officially announced Thursday that Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors won the second-ever Clutch Player of the Year award. DeRozan finished as a finalist for the recognition for the second straight season.
While both his fellow finalists presented a strong case for the acknowledgment, it feels pretty darn shocking that DeRozan didn’t take home the hardware. The Bulls finished the year with the most clutch victories in the NBA. A total of 27 of their 39 wins came in clutch games. And a big reason for that was DeRozan.
Here’s a look at the final voting tally …
DeMar DeRozan’s Clutch Numbers
While DeRozan’s 182 total clutch points finished behind Curry’s 189, the Bulls’ All-Star did hold a far better 24-16 record in such performances. Curry finished just 23-20. DeRozan also had the edge in points scored during the final 30 seconds of clutch games, recording 57 compared to Curry’s 51. Forcing his way to the free throw line with the game on the line was a huge reason for this, as 32 of his 57 points were scored at the charity stripe.
If we take a step back and look at fourth-quarter scoring as a whole, DeRozan stands out even more. He scored 550 total points in the final frame this season. Rounding out the rest of the top 5 were De’Aaron Fox (538), LeBron James (525), Giannis Antetokounmpo (517), and Curry (506). Some of DeRozan’s best fourth-quarter showings this season included a 19-point effort in a win over Sacramento, an 18-point performance in a win over Toronto, and a 17-point outing against Utah.
All things considered, this snub feels like a big one for the soon-to-be 35-year-old. Thanks to his high IQ and methodical mid-range game, DeRozan has proven to be one of the NBA’s elite closers over the past half-decade. The forward has finished top 4 in total clutch points in every season since 2019-20. He’s also finished top 2 in each of his three seasons in Chicago.
Anyway, DeRozan will always be the Clutch Player of the Year in our hearts. A big thanks to him for trying to make a crappy season as fun as you could! I’ll drop some memorable clutch moments below!
For more on DeRozan’s future …
