DeMar DeRozan’s Sacramento Kings are looking to inch closer to securing a playoff spot during Wednesday’s Western Conference play-in tournament matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. Another postseason berth would mark the eighth of his 16-year career.
How Has DeMar DeRozan Fared Across His First 7 Playoff Appearances?
The Kings finished their first season with DeRozan ninth in the West (40-42). They must dispatch the 10th-placed Mavericks (39-43) and then the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies (48-34) to secure the conference’s eighth and final playoff seed.
DeRozan hasn’t experienced much playoff success, holding a 25-38 record through 63 outings with the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls.
The six-time All-Star has suffered first-round exits in four of his seven postseason appearances (2014, 2015, 2019, 2022). Additionally, three of his runs have ended in 4-0 sweeps against the Washington Wizards (2015) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (2017, 2018).
DeRozan made his deepest runs with Toronto, reaching at least the Eastern Conference semifinals from 2016 to 2018. That included his only conference finals appearance in 2016 when the Raptors lost 4-2 to Cleveland.
The three-time All-NBA selectee’s Toronto squads infamously struggled to surpass then-Cavaliers superstar forward LeBron James in all three years. Since 2019, DeRozan hasn’t advanced beyond Round 1, missing the postseason in four of his last five seasons.
DeRozan’s Playoff Stats
In 63 playoff games, DeRozan has averaged 21.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.4 3-pointers per game. He’s shot 41.8% from the field and 21.4% from 3-point range.
His midrange and isolation-heavy offensive attack hasn’t proven to be a recipe for championship contention. Nevertheless, the Kings star has garnered a reputation for being one of the league’s most clutch players in recent campaigns and continues to be an offensive threat in Year 16.
DeMar DeRozan Compares Kings’ Play-In Matchup Against Mavericks to a Game 7
Ahead of Wednesday’s play-in clash with Dallas, DeRozan sounded locked in. The veteran scorer compared it to a Game 7, stressing the team’s win-or-go-home mindset.
“I mean, it’s literally win or go home,” DeRozan said. “It’s nothing more than that, other than a Game 7. This is a Game 7. This is literally win or go home, so that mentality is whoever wants it the most.”
The Kings swept their season series against the Mavericks 3-0, boding well for their chances of advancing. However, none of those games featured Dallas superstar big man Anthony Davis.
Over 77 regular-season games, DeRozan averaged 22.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.1 3-pointers per game while shooting 47.7% from the field and 32.8% from 3-point range.