Demar DeRozan joined JJ Redick on his podcast, The Old Man and the Three, to talk about a wide variety of subjects, including Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Redick’s co-host Tommy Alter started the discussion by asking DeRozan what he learned about playing against playoff Giannis. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks knocked Demar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls out of the first round of last year’s playoffs in the first round.
Demar DeRozan saw a different version of Giannis Antetokounmpo than he knew in his first stint in the Eastern Conference.
DeRozan spoke on Giannis’ development from the last time DeRozan played in the Eastern Conference to where Giannis is now. Demar DeRozan spent the first nine seasons of his NBA career with the Toronto Raptors, a team that knocked Giannis and the Bucks out of the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2017 following the 2016-17 season, the 2017 playoffs marked a turning point for Giannis. For the 2016-17 season, Giannis was recognized as the NBA’s Most Improved Player, an award that would serve as a springboard for what Giannis has done in the three years DeRozan spent in the Western Conference as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
DeRozan was the centerpiece of a trade that sent Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors, from 2018 through 2021 Demar DeRozan and Giannis Antetokounmpo only saw each other twice a year and never in the playoffs (they would have had to meet in the NBA Finals). Last season, Demar DeRozan signed a free agent deal with the Chicago Bulls and now faces Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks four times per year and faced off in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.