NEWSLETTER
The first episode of DeMar DeRozan’s newest project has arrived.
The Chicago Bulls’ forward announced in recent weeks that three episodes of “Dinners With DeMar” were coming to his YouTube page, and the first didn’t disappoint. The series centers around DeRozan and a guest sharing a meal to speak about the importance of mental health. Draymond Green was the first to join the show, sitting down for a nearly 45-minute interview back in the summer of 2022.
Of course, the conversation was had before Green’s on-court trouble earlier this season, but this only made what the two discussed more poignant. Green explained to DeRozan that several times he’s told himself he needs therapy, but the Golden State Warriors champion has repeatedly talked himself out of it. Asking what he can do to get over the hump, DeRozan provided quite the fantastic basketball analogy:
“I was the exact same way. I used to find every excuse not to go. I remember the first two times I went I was in there just bullshitting … I’m going it a disservice,” DeMar DeRozan told Draymond Green. “Let me treat this like it’s a film session and really indulge in it – just to see what I can find. Even if it’s one thing I can find. That’s how I really looked at it. Let me look at it like a film session. Even if I know what happened in the game, let me see if there is something I can see that can help me that next possession. And that’s how I took the approach about it.”
DeRozan has long been known for his analogies in interviews, and he continued by explaining to Green that he’s learned to control his inner Hulk. He’s said the real power of his mental health journey has come from his ability to channel his emotions in a way he’s never thought was possible. The veteran even emphasized how this helped him on the court during his huge first season in Chicago.
“It helps me out in moments. Even going into this past season, I found such a calm emotion, which made me do a lot of things I was able to do in games this year. It just put me at ease. It was like nothing else matters but this moment right here. Nothing else mattered. It took a lot for me to get there, and that came from therapy honestly,” DeMar DeRozan said.
I got to be honest, the entire interview was far more raw than I expected. It truthfully is a lightly edited conversation, where DeRozan doesn’t shy away from opening up about moments from his early life in Compton. He also touches on the rocky years he had behind the scenes while in San Antonio. At one point, DeRozan shares that he had one of his daughters on the same day his father passed before his team had a game the very next day.
Multiple times DeRozan stresses that he’s speaking about things he’s never said publicly before, but this appears to be the beauty of the series. If DeRozan’s goal was to have an open and honest conversation about how seeking mental health help can help with life’s struggles, he accomplished precisely that.
The next two episodes – which are set to debut in two-week increments – will be with Damian Lillard and Dwyane Wade. Again, can watch them all on DeRozan’s YouTube page here. You can also see the full Draymond Green episode embedded below:
