NO. 36? COME ON!
The Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan took umbrage with Sports Illustrated ranking him the 36th best player in the NBA,
DeMar DeRozan appears unimpressed after climbing 10 places to No. 36 in Sports Illustrated’s annual NBA player ratings.
The Toronto Raptors star reacted to the ranking with a tweet Tuesday that said “F SI...#ProveEm.” We’re guessing the F was not short for fiddlesticks.
He had a similar reaction last year at SI’s No. 46 ranking, tweeting “FOH 46” and “ProveEM.”
DeRozan did just that, earning NBA all-star status while ranking fifth in scoring at 27.3 points a game during the regular season.
Sports Illustrated had him at No. 61 in 2015-16.
This season, SI has DeRozan sandwiched between New York’s Carmelo Anthony and Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton.
“Every year we relitigate the case of DeMar DeRozan, perhaps the league’s most polarizing player,” the magazine wrote. “Our verdict comes down to this: DeRozan is a refined, impressive scorer whose limitations create real problems.
“For five straight years, the Raptors have performed better with DeRozan off the floor,” it added. “The truth of his value is more complicated than that, though the wealth of mixed signals to this point are beyond coincidence. We know DeRozan can score. But to what end?”
Toronto centre Jonas Valanciunas stands at No. 80 while Canadians Tristan Thompson (Cleveland) and Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota) are No. 50, respectively.
The top 30, likely to include Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, will be released later this week.