The NBA season is long and sometimes keep players away from their families for weeks at a time on long road trips. DeMar Derozan has found his solution to continue to play the game he loves and spend more time with the people he loves. Derozan’s daughter was spotted on the sidelines going hard for her dad’s team during the Raptors-Bulls play-in game on Wednesday night.
The NBA fans and NBA media watching the game on television loved every minute of it too.
Derozan’s Daughter In-Game Antics
Diar Derozan was able to persuade her father to let her skip school so she could come see him play in Toronto. The 9-year-old spent her early years in Toronto and was very familiar with loud fan base of the Raptors.
Late in the third quarter, Fred VanVleet stepped up to the free throw line and Diar yelled out a loud noise that clearly was enough to distract the Raptors. VanVleet missed the free throw and his team struggled all night from the line. They ended the game 18 for 36 from the free throw line, and the loud screams of Diar echoed through the television screens of many watching the game on the ESPN broadcast.
“I kept hearing something during the game during free throws,” said Derozan after the game. “I looked back like … dang, that’s my daughter screaming.”
The Bulls, with the help of Diar, stormed back from a 19-point deficit to win 109-105. The Raptors’ 50 percent from the line was the worst they shot all season.
“My daughter called me the other day when she was getting out of school and she just said, ‘Dad, can I come to the Toronto game?'” DeRozan said. “I remember her going to all the Toronto games when she was a kid and I almost said no because she’s in school back home. But she kept asking. She was just adamant about coming to support and I said, ‘All right, you can miss one day of school and come to a game.’ I’m glad I did. I owe her some money for sure.”
Despite Derozan saying his daughter will not be in attendance in Miami, United Airlines offered to fly her out for free. The popular airline quoted Derozan’s post game interview that the Bulls tweeted on their account.
“The flight’s on us. What do you say, @DeMar_DeRozan? We’d love to take Diar’s talents to South Beach,” United Airlines wrote.
Family Reunion
This is not the first time Derozan has brought his family courtside to watch him hoop. Last summer, both mothers of his children were spotted sitting courtside at a Drew League game. It garnered a lot of media attention especially since the two women were both at his game at the same time. He and Kiara Morrison met in 2009 while he was in college at USC. The two share three daughters together. Morrison is the mother of Diar, Mari, and their baby daughter.
Diar and Mari love to watch their dad play ball. Last season, they were spotted on the sidelines at a Bulls home game mimicking their dad’s free throw routine.
Shavonti, the mother of another of a fourth Derozan child, was spotted holding a baby boy at the same Drew League game last summer.
The Bulls star is trying to do his best to keep both mothers of his children happy and spend as much time as possible with his children while navigating a busy schedule as a professional athlete.
This was a cute story that gave the NBA some family points in the eyes of consumers. Going forward, we are not so sure the NBA wants daughters of players yelling and screaming every time an opposing player shoots a free throw. That would become a problem if it happened again and that’s why DeRozan is sending her back to school, rather than capitalize on her few minutes of fame.
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