DeMar DeRozan is having best non-Michael Jordan season in Bulls history

Chicago Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan is making a case for the best non-Michael Jordan season in franchise history.

Chicago Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan is enjoying the best season of his NBA career at the age of 32, and he's currently in the midst of a ridiculously dominant stretch of scoring that hasn't been matched by many in NBA history.

DeRozan has hit the 35-point mark in six consecutive games. Only Michael Jordan had previously done that in Bulls history. DeRozan is also doing this on red-hot efficiency, hitting at least 50% of his shots in all six of the games. That ties Wilt Chamberlain for the longest streak in NBA history.

DeRozan's hot stretch now has him at 27.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 51.5% from the field and 33.7% from 3-point range. He's starting to get more MVP buzz again with the Bulls tied for first in the Eastern Conference approaching the All-Star break. They're 37-21 despite having a number of key injuries.

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With DeRozan putting up such historic numbers, it's only fair to wonder where this season he's having ranks among all-time great Bulls seasons. Obviously nothing compares to MJ, but when you look past him, DDR is putting together a case for the best non-Jordan season ever, at least that's what Ricky O'Donnell said on the most recent episode of Blue Wire's Cash Considerations pod:

“This is the best non-MJ Bulls season in franchise history, this DeMar DeRozan year. You can look at it from a few different factors. First of all, similar to D-Rose, team success is directly tied to this one guy. …. This year with DeRozan … without DeMar DeRozan, where are the Bulls right now? Even with all these other additions, even if the team was fully healthy, they need DeRozan's scoring punch and especially his crunch-time decision-making more than anything else. He has been the driving force behind this team's success. … This year is all about DeRozan.”

There are obviously other great candidates, with Derrick Rose's historic MVP campaign in 2010-11 immediately coming to mind, as O'Donnell notes. Scottie Pippen is an all-time great who put forth a number of great seasons, with his 1993-94 season without Jordan an example of a fully unleashed Pippen. Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Zach LaVine have recently had elite seasons, and there are older players like Artis Gilmore, Bob Love, Reggie Theus and Jerry Sloan, among others, who put forth awesome campaigns.

DeRozan needs to finish this season strong and help the Bulls find success in the playoffs to cement this title, so there's still work to be done. But at the very least, the case is being made.