For 15 seasons, DeRozan’s been as durable as they come. He’s appeared in 1,110 of 1,193 regular-season games, an eye-popping 93 percent of his team’s contests. Since he joined the Bulls in the 2021 offseason, DeRozan has missed only 17 of a possible 246 games. Even after a physically grueling, overtime battle against the Knicks to close the regular season, DeRozan couldn’t come up with a single complaint about his minutes count. If he had his way, he’d play more. “I love it. I want to play,” DeRozan said. “I tell Billy all the time, ‘Don’t take me out. I want to play.’ I want to be out there with the guys. I want to feel that challenge. Especially when you realize I’m not going to play for another 15 years, another 10 years. So while I’m here, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. I don’t want to shortchange anybody: myself, my teammates, people who come to see me. “I just want to be out there and play as much as I can. And I’m going to take care of myself as best as I can so I can do that.” -via The Athletic / April 14, 2024
