NEWSLETTER
DeMar DeRozan is one of three players to be nominated for the first-ever Clutch Player of the Year Award. The winner will be honored with the Jerry West Trophy at the conclusion of the season.
DeRozan is joined by Miami’s Jimmy Butler and Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox as finalists.
It’s no secret that DeRozan has a reputation for being one of the NBA’s best crunch-time players. Just last season he finished with the second-most points in clutch games behind only Joel Embiid. Among the top-10 clutch scorers, he finished with easily the best field-goal percentage at 53.5 percent.
Look at this year’s stats, and DeRozan sits second again in total points scored in the clutch. Fox ranked first with 194, DeRozan sat second with 159, and Butler was third with 151. Unlike last year, both players finished ahead of DeRozan in scoring efficiency. The Bulls also finished with fewer clutch victories than both the Heat and Kings.
If I had to guess, Fox ends up with the award this time around. Perhaps DeRozan’s history will earn him some votes, but if we’re basing things solely on this year, it’s hard to see Fox as the worthy option. Not only did he rank well ahead of the competition in points scored, but the Kings also finished 2nd in the Western Conference with by far the best clutch offensive rating.
Again, I hope DeRozan can pull it off because I think he’d be a worthy first winner, but we’ll see.
