The 2021-22 NBA season is on the horizon as media days and training camps are approaching on the calendar.
Before the season begins, it’s only right to kick off a new NBA campaign with player rankings, which ESPN has put together with their NBArank.
On Wednesday, players 50-26 were released, including new Chicago Bulls wing DeMar DeRozan at No. 45, rising 37 spots from last year’s ESPN’s NBArank. DeRozan was ranked No. 42 in Sports Illustrated’s top 100 rankings.
Andrew Lopez of ESPN elaborates on DeRozan’s ranking:
“What will DeRozan’s role be? The Bulls have a plethora of dominant ball handlers with Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine and Coby White, but DeRozan figures to take some of those touches away. DeRozan also shined brightest last season with the Spurs as a point power forward of sorts, averaging a career high in assists per game while playing 69% of his minutes at the 4, according to Basketball Reference.”
On Tuesday, DeRozan’s new teammate, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, was announced as being ranked No. 57 in the NBArank.
In his final season with the Spurs, DeRozan averaged 21.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game.
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