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DeMar DeRozan had fallen off the radar for a few seasons playing for a mediocre San Antonino Spurs team.
He had been traded there after a nine-year tenure with the Toronto Raptors.
In three seasons with the Spurs, he averaged 21.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per contest.
However, they only made the NBA Playoffs one time in those three seasons.
In his final two seasons with San Antonio, they finished under .500 both times.
This past year was his first with the Chicago Bulls, and he had a phenomenal year.
The former USC star averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game, grabbed 5.2 rebounds and dished out 4.2 assists.
He also made his fifth All-Star Game and was a starter.
Recently, ESPN finished up ranking their top-100 players for the upcoming 2022-23 NBA season.
They ranked DeRozan as the 28th best player.
Ironically, they have him one spot behind his All-Star teammate Zach LaVine.
DeRozan was a big reason why the Bulls made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season when they had Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade on the roster.
There is no question that he is a top-30 player in the NBA, so his ranking is about right.
That being said, there is a case to be made that he could be a tad higher based on his excellent season last year.
In five games, the Bulls lost in the first round of the NBA Playoffs to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
However, they only had starting point guard Lonzo Ball for 35 regular season games.
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