There's no replacing Michael Jordan in Chicago. But for a brief spell during the Bulls' 2021-22 campaign, DeMar DeRozan was seemingly pulling off an impressive impersonation of His Airness at the United Center.

DeRozan was the toast of the NBA for a stretch of a few weeks last season, hitting his stride in February when he averaged 34.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. He was basically unstoppable then, even posting 10 consecutive points with 30 or more during that span.

In his recent appearance on The Draymond Green Show, the Bulls star admitted that he certainly was trying to embody Michael Jordan as best as he possibly could. DeMar revealed that after missing a game-winner against the New York Knicks early in the season, handing the Bulls their first loss in five games, he was going after every big shot like he was MJ himself, via NBC Sports Chicago:

“I airballed. And i just felt the whole vibe of everything, like, what was that? I felt like I disrespected the aura of what these fans are used to seeing from obviously MJ hitting game-winners,” said DeMar DeRozan.

“It was that game to where it was like every shot I take in the clutch, I'm going to make it count every single time. You look back at all the moments that I had in that arena, it was more so like, ‘Yo, I'm trying to inherit the ghost of Michael shooting his fadeaway with the clock running down.' I carried that to heart after that moment because you felt it from the fans.”

DeMar DeRozan went on to have one of the most high-level seasons that the Bulls have seen in recent years from a singular player, carrying them back to the postseason after missing it four years in a row. While it didn't end the way they were hoping – getting trounced in the first round by a flat-out better Milwaukee Bucks side – it was certainly progress from seasons passed.