Despite the fact he averaged a career-best 27.3 points per game and was named to an All-NBA team last season people tend to want to focus on just one stat when it comes to Toronto Raptors star DeMar DeRozan: the horrific 26.6 per cent he shot from deep last season and career 28.1 per cent clip.
Look we get it, DeRozan’s a really bad three-point shooter, and in the all-analytics, threes-layups-or-nothing era of the NBA we live in that makes him a highly controversial player among fans and the media, alike.
But here’s something to keep in mind, just because he’s a poor three-point shooter by NBA standards, that doesn’t mean he can’t knock ‘em down.
Case in point: this video that emerged Thursday that shows DeRozan completing the “Let It Fly Challenge,” a fad that appears to have started on Instagram by user “dribble2much” that sees people make three consecutive three-point shots looking at the camera after the first two and then running out the gym with your arms spread out like an airplane after the third.
#LetItFlyChallenge @demar_derozan | link in bio
7,430 Likes, 77 Comments – HandleLife (@dribble2much) on Instagram: “#LetItFlyChallenge @demar_derozan | link in bio”
As you can see DeRozan isn’t just drilling triples with ease, he’s doing so from pretty deep off both a step-back and step-in manoeuvre. Yes, it’s only three shots with no defence and for a silly social media thing that may or may not take off, but don’t get things twisted: contrary to popular belief, the man’s range can extend out beyond 22 feet.
Raptors training camp starts Tuesday. Who knows, maybe this is the start of the “DeRozan from deep” movement every basketball fan seems so desperate to see start.
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