If you had told an NBA fan last year that DeMar DeRozan being moved to the Chicago Bulls would be the catalyst for his MVP season, he'd likely call you crazy. That move was polarizing amongst NBA circles, with many fans being split between being a downright terrible move to a decent move at least.
However, not even the most hardcore Bulls fan could've predicted THIS happening. In his 13th season, DeRozan is having the best season of his career. He's averaging 28.1 points per game on 51/34/86 shooting splits, along with around 5 rebounds and assists per contest. Somehow, those stats undersell Deebo's MVP-level performance.
Let's talk about why DeMar DeRozan is the clear MVP favorite for the 2022 season.
3 reasons why Bulls star DeMar DeRozan is the clear MVP favorite
King of the Fourth
DeRozan's clutchness today has been incredible to watch for many Bulls fans. With most of the team missing significant time due to injuries and/or COVID-19, Chicago has been in one too many close games this season. Thankfully for the team, though, they've had Deebo to bail them out of these scenarios.
During his time with the Bulls, DeRozan has been thrust into 30 games that NBA.com counts as “clutch situations” (with a team leading/behind by 5 points with 5 minutes left in a game). DeRozan has won two-thirds of these clutch games, and he's doing it in incredible fashion.
Ranking 4th in clutch scoring with 4.0 on a ridiculous 56/67/89 shooting split, the Bulls star's clutch heroics is a far-cry from his “choking” days in Toronto. Now, he's one of the most reliable closers in the NBA, with the ability to get to his spot and drain buckets when needed. DeMar DeRozan's back-to-back game-winners in two straight games all but prove his MVP case.
Leading the Bulls to the first seed
MVP. Most Valuable Player. Historically speaking, the best player on the best team had an advantage of winning the MVP conversation. With that in mind, there's significant reason for DeMar DeRozan leading the Bulls to be a major reason for him to win the MVP award.
Let's look at the other top teams and see how they'll fare in the MVP voting contest. The Suns are by far the best team in the league, but with both CP3 and Booker on that team votes will be split among them. Stephen Curry seemed to be a favorite earlier in the year, but his sudden slump all but took him out of competition. The Heat don't have a game-breaking star like the Bulls have.
DeRozan's biggest (literally and figuratively) competitors in the NBA MVP race are Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic. Both have insane stats to their name, and like Deebo, are the best players on their teams. However, it may come down to team performance in the end. If the Bulls hold off the Sixers for the one seed and the Nuggets stay at sixth, it's possible for the coin toss to be in DeRozan's favor.
The Narrative
Let's be real: these days, MVP races are about narratives just as much as on-court production. Your stats will get you to the top of the conversation, but the story behind your season will be one of the factors that pushes you over the edge.
The story of DeMar DeRozan's MVP season is a compelling script to read. As stated earlier, his move to the Bulls was met with mixed reactions. Some outlets even went so far as to say that the DeRozan-to-Bulls was the worst move of the off-season. At the time, the criticisms, though harsh, were valid: since his stint with the Raptors, Deebo has not proven he's a top-15 talent at least.
Now, though, DeRozan is proving his doubters wrong once and for all. The “worst move of the off-season”, the “82nd-best player” according to ESPN is now leading his team to the first seed in a loaded conference. He's done it before in Toronto, but something's different this year in Chicago. Instead of being the beneficiary of a good system like the Raptors in 2017, he's now the system that the Bulls revolve around.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a better MVP story than DeRozan's this year (unless Curry breaks out of his slump in tremendous fashion). Because of that, the Bulls star is the definitive favorite to win the NBA MVP this season.
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