DeMar DeRozan

Every now and again, the NBA’s 2,460-game regular-season marathon offers up the type of game in which one can cue up “dramatic music,” and await the result of something almost guaranteed to happen. As celebrated crunchtime assassin DeMar DeRozan ran off seven consecutive points during overtime against the Miami Heat — all through trademark inside-the-arc, mano-a-mano buckets — it’s safe to say that January 6, 2025 became one of those instances. All but guaranteed to request an isolation dance atop the key with Sacramento clinging to a three-point edge in the final half-minute, DeRozan tests the misfortuned Tyler Herro, working first a size-up, and then a sidestep, pump fake combo, testing his discipline. Unbothered by Herro’s unwillingness to bite, DeRozan merely adjusts, burying an unbalanced middy to seal the game in front of the Kings’ fired-up home crowd. Heroic in what became the Sacramento Kings’ fifth-straight win, DeRozan commanded star status, offsetting the loss of his All-Star backcourt mate with a game-high 30 points (on 12-of-26 shooting), alongside three rebounds, four assists, and one block.