Courtesy of bulls.com
The NBA announced today that Bulls guard/forward DeMar DeRozan was selected as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played from March 4 to March 10. DeRozan captured his 15th career Player of the Week Award and his fourth with Chicago, which is tied for the fourth-most weekly honors in Bulls history.
DeRozan, 6-6, 220, posted averages of 29.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 39.4 minutes through four games last week, leading Chicago to a 3-1 mark with road victories over the Sacramento Kings (March 4), Utah Jazz (March 6) and Golden State Warriors (March 7).
DeRozan (29.8 ppg) ranked third in the Eastern Conference and seventh overall in the NBA in scoring over the week while tallying shooting clips of .551 from the field, .412 from distance and .923 from the free-throw line. He led the NBA in free-throws made per game (9.0) and in free-throw percentage (.923) during the four-game stretch and ranks tied for fourth in the league in total free throws made (399) this season.
The six-time NBA All-Star scored a league-high 48 total fourth quarter points in the week, including 19 points in the final frame against the Kings and 17 points in the fourth quarter at the Jazz – becoming the first player in the play- by-play era in Bulls history (since 1997-98) to score at least 17 points in a final stanza in back-to-back games. Additionally, he had a league-high 20 clutch points on the week (clutch points are defined as when the score margin is within five points in the last five minutes of play).
DeRozan also set the highest two-game span for fourth-quarter scoring by any Bulls player in the play-by-play era, totaling 36 points. The Southern California product currently ranks fourth in the NBA in points scored in the last 12 minutes of action this season with 411 points and is second in clutch points with 147.
During the week, DeRozan had two 30-point games and made double-digit free throws in both contests against Sacramento and Golden State. DeRozan also tallied 24 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists against the L.A. Clippers, marking his sixth double-double this season and his team-leading fifth game with at least 10 assists. DeRozan leads the Bulls in scoring on the year (1,436 points) and is second in assists (333), only trailing teammate Coby White (340 assists), who also received a Player of the Week nomination for his play over the last four games. DeRozan holds season marks of 23.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists in a league-high 37.9 minutes per game through 62 games played in 2023-24.
The three former weekly awards for DeRozan with Chicago came during the 2021-22 season, with the last selection for the week of Feb. 14, 2022. His four total wins ties Ben Gordon and Jimmy Butler for the fourth-most in franchise history, trailing only Derrick Rose and Scottie Pippen (five times each) and Michael Jordan (23 times).
