DeMar DeRozan's daughter Diar steals the spotlight in Toronto

Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan and his daughter Diar took over Toronto for a night.

© John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

One of the best things about the NBA Play-in games is that anything can happen. In a do-or-die setting where a single loss can mean the difference between playoffs and no playoffs, it's always exciting. On Wednesday, the most exciting story came out of Toronto, where DeMar DeRozan's daughter Diar stole the spotlight for her incessant screaming that seemingly threw the Toronto Raptors off-balance when shooting their free throws.

Went viral

The nine-year-old started her distraction strategy as early as the first quarter, and when the Raptors kept on missing one free throw after another, Diar just kept on going for it.

"She went viral," DeRozan said after the 109-105 win wherein the Raptors missed 18 of their 36 free-throw attempts. "I haven't let it soak in yet. But that's her. I kept hearing something during the game and somebody missed and I looked back and I was like 'Damn, that's my daughter screaming?'"

DeRozan added that he almost didn't let Diar come with him to Toronto as it would mean she would miss a day of school. But the young lady was adamant and the All-Star wingman eventually agreed to let her tag along.

"She kept asking," DeRozan said. "She was just adamant about coming to support. I said 'Alright, you can miss one day of school and come to a game.' I'm glad I did. I owe her some money for sure."

To Diar DeRozan's teacher: may we kindly request Diar be excused from school on Friday 😅 pic.twitter.com/ZANywhzpqU

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 13, 2023

One-time deal

The sad news, though, is Diar will not be coming with Deebo to Miami when the Bulls take on the Heat for the final ticket to the NBA Playoffs and the right to take on the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. DeRozan explained that she can't afford to miss another school day.

Diar's help will be sorely needed as the Heat shoot their free throws with a high success rate—83% to be exact.