Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan details bond with local product Corey Maggette

Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan details bond with local product Corey Maggette originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Chicago Bulls-Denver Nuggets preseason game on NBC Sports Chicago, Fenwick High School product Corey Maggette filled in for analyst Stacey King, who is recovering from hip surgery.

But Maggette’s connections with the Bulls began well before that.

Not only did Maggette detail attending his first Bulls game as a kid on the broadcast, but he also shared details from his friendship with All-Star DeMar DeRozan. The relationship began while Maggette starred for the Los Angeles Clippers from 2000-08 and DeRozan grew up in nearby Compton, Calif., before attending USC for the 2008-09 season.

“It was amazing,” DeRozan said when asked what it was like to see Maggette sitting courtside alongside Jason Benetti on the call. “Corey was a vet mentor to me. A lot of people don’t know that. I spent a lot of time with him, man. I was 18, 19, 20 years old in the gym with him, working out every summer, him giving me a lot of drills and more so just pushing me. Being with a veteran guy that early in my career showed me what it was like to be a pro.

“He’s always been such a positive figure for me. He got me to understand a lot, not just with basketball but about life. He got me into cars at an early age.”

Indeed, Maggette on the broadcast shared a tale in which he sold DeRozan a sports car at a nice discount.

“I remember driving two hours to go get it and two hours back home,” DeRozan said, laughing.

DeRozan attempted eight free throws in just 25 minutes during Thursday’s double overtime preseason victory over the Nuggets, victimizing two defenders with his patented pump fake. DeRozan said Maggette, who also was a stellar foul drawer in his prime, helped refine some of his moves.

“He taught me a lot that stuck with me—how to get fouled, how to take advantage of the penalty, using your body,” DeRozan said. “I learned a lot from Corey, for sure. We used to do these shooting drills in the midrange, competing always.”

Maggette averaged over eight free-throw attempts in five straight seasons with the Clippers, including 10 per game in 2004-05.

“We was in the gym every day together,” DeRozan said.

And for those thinking about King, don’t worry: The incomparable analyst posted to his social media account that he’s scheduled back for the Oct. 25 regular-season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder alongside his partner, Adam Amin.

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