Kings star DeMar DeRozan blasts social media influence on NBA

09/11/2024 02:18 PM

This offseason, the Sacramento Kings made one of their splashier moves in recent years by signing free agent shooting guard DeMar DeRozan to a contract. The Kings are coming off of a disappointing season in which they failed to make it out of the Play-In round, and the signing of DeRozan is sure to add an extra scoring kick to a team that sorely needed it at times throughout that campaign.

Recently, DeRozan stopped by ESPN’s studios in New York to appear on First Take, and in doing so, he dropped an opinion on the current social media climate of the NBA landscape and some of the negative affects that that can have on the players themselves, via ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.

“We live in such an opinion-based universe now. You can’t express nothing without outside people trying to tear that down,” said DeRozan. “…Nowadays you can pick up your phone and see so many opinions placed on you, or you give an opinion right away in real time and that can take anything over the top.”

DeRozan also spoke on the unprecedented power that everyday people now have in shaping the narratives on social media.

“We’re all media as soon as we pick up our phone,” said DeRozan. “I think it makes it a lot tougher in ways and I think a lot of the conversations I have is I try to break a lot of stigma that we are scared to have at times because of such an opinion-based world we live in.”

DeRozan has indeed been a huge mental health advocate in the NBA throughout his career, shining a light on an issue that some might incorrectly assume wouldn’t apply as strongly to professional athletes.

How much does DeMar DeRozan help the Kings?

At first glance, it would appear that DeMar DeRozan will probably be sliding into the small forward spot for the Kings, due to the fact that the team no longer employs Harrison Barnes and that both Kevin Huerter and Keon Ellis are viable options at the two guard spot.

This being the case, it goes without saying that the Kings will have one of the smaller lineups in the NBA this year, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing if DeRozan can continue to score at an elite level as he did during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls.

The Kings’ season is set to get underway on October 23.

The post Kings star DeMar DeRozan blasts social media influence on NBA appeared first on ClutchPoints.