Domantas Sabonis saves DeMar DeRozan from empty-calorie scorer allegations

On Monday, DeMar DeRozan – one of the greatest scorers in NBA history – added another career milestone to his list of accomplishments.

It came late in the fourth quarter, with his Sacramento Kings trailing five points to the Miami Heat with 75 seconds left on the clock. In that moment, DeRozan allowed the ball to roll down the court (in the interest of time) before receiving a staggered pick and roll (aka a double drag) and pulling up for a 3-point jumper.

What followed was a made basket and a foul (DeRozan would go on to drain the free throw).

As you can see from the quote tweet, the sequence did more than cut the Heat lead from five to one. It also pushed DeRozan past the legendary Charles Barkley in the all-time scoring list. Now, DeRozan sits at 29th all-time in scoring.

DeMar DeRozan's special moment was almost ruined

As is the case with most great athletes, DeRozan has dealt with his fair share of controversy over the years. For DeRozan, this criticism has been based on his scoring and how much it actually leads to winning (these types of players are typically pegged as "empty-calorie" scorers).

From 2012 to 2021, DeRozan's teams were better with him off the court than they were with him on the court. Prior to this year, DeRozan's teams have only been better with him on the floor in three of his 15 seasons.

Now, there is always some noise with plus-minus data like this. But considering that it has been following DeRozan across three different teams (the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls), it is hard to make that argument here.

Anyway, against the Heat, DeRozan was in danger of having another scoring feat be discredited because his team ended with a loss, as the Kings were still trailing with nine seconds left in the game.

De'Aaron Fox tried to change this issue with a midrange shot to give the Kings a lead. That clanked off the rim, signaling that doom was imminent. But then, Domantas Sabonis secured an offensive rebound (88th percentile in offensive rebounding this year) and put it back in to put the Kings ahead.

The Heat followed this with a Terry Rozier airball, officially clinching a Kings' victory. DeRozan comes out unscathed and is able to celebrate his individual achievement on a team-wide level (as he should).

To be fair, one could argue that DeRozan has never been on a team that was perfectly tailored to his strengths and weaknesses. So far, the Kings could be that group, and if they are, DeRozan is proving a lot of his naysayers wrong. On the season (still super early), the Kings are +13.1 points better per 100 possessions when he's on the floor than when he's on the bench (per Basketball Reference).

After this win against the Heat, DeRozan now needs 609 points to pass Allen Iverson for 28th all-time on the scoring list. If DeRozan continues at his current pace, he will surpass Iverson in 24 games.