DeMar DeRozan has taken hold of another Toronto Raptors franchise record.
DeRozan was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the month of January on Thursday. This marks the third time DeRozan’s earned Player of the Month honors, putting him in sole possession of first in Raptors history. He also leads the way with eight Player of the Week awards, three of them coming this year.
The Raptors went 9-5 for the month, playing against a tougher slate of competition and coming out with the seventh-best net rating in the league for the month. DeRozan was at the helm of that, ranking second in the East with 25.3 points per-game on 54.5-percent true-shooting. More notably, DeRozan also chipped in 3.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists, the latter being the highest mark so far in this, his best season as a passer. DeRozan also hit 33.3 percent on threes and owned a plus-3.6 net rating. The month was highlighted by a franchise-record 52-point game on New Year’s Day.
DeRozan is having unquestionably his best year, and it’s notable that he’s being given a Player of the Month award in what wasn’t even his best month of the season so far. He’s been that good, and January saw him earn the fourth All-Star berth of his career. All told, DeRozan is averaging 24.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.2 steals over 49 games, posting a 56.6 true-shooting percentage with a career-high 25.1-percent assist rate, career-best advanced metrics, and the Raptors are outscoring opponents by 6.4 points per-100 possessions when he’s on the floor. He ranks third in the NBA in free-throws made, sixth in total points scored (11th in points per-game), 10th in offensive win shares, and 13th in total win shares.
It’s legitimately in the conversation for the best season a Raptor has ever put together.
