DeMar DeRozan was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week extending Dec. 12-18, the Toronto Raptors announced Monday.
It’s the second Player of the Week nod for DeRozan already this year and the third of his career, putting him one behind Kyle Lowry and four behind Vince Carter and Chris Bosh on the franchise’s all-time leaderboard. With a torrid start tot he 2016-17 campaign, DeRozan also earned an honorable mention for the conference’s Player of the Month award for November, and both he and Lowry should be in the discussion for that honor when December rounds out.
DeRozan led the Raptors to a 3-1 record this week, averaging an NBA-high 31.5 points. Not only did he score at high volume, but he shot 60.5 percent from the floor and chipped in 3.5 assists per-game. It’s possible his numbers could have jumped out even more, but because he helped the Raptors out to three enormous leads, he averaged just 32.2 minutes for the week, appearing in only two fourth quarters, one of them just for a quick cameo.
The week also leaves DeRozan just 74 points shy of Chris Bosh’s all-time franchise record and gives him 15 30-point games just a third of the way into the season (he had 14 all of last year). In 27 appearances, DeRozan is averaging 28.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists with a career-best 57.4 true-shooting percentage, all of which has proven a key factor in the team’s 19-8 start and their historic offensive efficiency to date.
