DeMar DeRozan Credits Lakers Hall of Famer For His Own All-Star Work Ethic

Take a wild guess.

Chicago Bulls All-Star small forward DeMar DeRozan recently sat down with David Aldridge of The Athletic for an epic, career-spanning conversation as he nears the lofty 20K+ point regular season scoring mark, which he will most likely transcend tomorrow against the San Antonio Spurs.

DeRozan, an L.A. native, also indicated that Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Fame shooting guard Kobe Bean Bryant was largely to blame for his own incredible work ethic, which includes a 5 a.m. early morning workout.

"I got that from Kobe, before I was in the league. I just stuck to it. And I laughed when I watched it. That’s exactly where I got it from, exactly where I got it from. It all started with him, just seeing his work ethic and how he approached it... It’s a mental edge that goes a long way. We finished two, three workouts before 10 a.m. Most guys are just getting up. And you have that mental edge right there. That alone goes a long way, just having that mental edge, understanding that you got more work in than the guy’s going to get in today. You’re done by the time the guy gets up. And you still have time later to go back in and get even more extra work later. For me, as I got older, it became more of a mental edge than anything. But at the same time, it gave me more of an opportunity to work on smaller things and really work on detail things – whether it was in the weight room, body wise and basketball, working on skill work."

Bryant was, infamously, quite the workaholic, who relished brutal early morning workouts.

They served him well. Across 20 NBA seasons, the 6'7" Bryant was an 18-time All-Star with the Lakers, winning five championships in seven NBA Finals appearances. The 33-year-old DeRozan, a five-time All-Star himself, overlapped with Bryant from 2009-2016 while with the Toronto Raptors.

DeRozan almost joined his hometown Lakers in the summer of 2021. Though a deal had not been inked, he had agreed to a sign-and-trade with the team, only to discover that L.A. had ultimately opted to trade for a washed-up Russell Westbrook. DeRozan pivoted, signing a three-year, $81.9 million deal with the Bulls.

Last year with Chicago, DeRozan enjoyed perhaps his best regular season as a pro, and is showing little sign of letting up now. In 2021-22, DeRozan averaged a career-most 27.9 points a game, on .504/.352/.877 shooting splits, during 76 games for the 46-36 Bulls. The 6'6" vet also chipped in 5.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 0.9 steals a night. For his efforts, DeRozan made his fifth All-Star appearance and his second All-NBA Second Team. Through five contests this year, he is averaging 24.8 points on a .518/.333/.872 slash line, plus 4.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.2 steals for the 3-2 Bulls.

The Lakers, meanwhile, are 0-4, and Westbrook has been perhaps their worst player receiving meaningful rotation run, averaging 10.3 points a game, in 28.7 minutes a night, on .289/.083/.800 shooting splits. He is also posting a career-worst -6.8 in box plus-minus, a far cry from his +11.1 peak in his 2016-17 MVP season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.