6x All-Star DeMar DeRozan Doesn’t Tie His Sneakers
No, seriously. He doesn’t. Never has.
It was November 21, 2018, and the San Antonio Spurs hosted the Memphis Grizzlies.
The score was 102-101 for the visiting team and there were only a handful of seconds left.
The shot clock was running down and the Grizzlies’ Mike Conley had to chuck up a shot.
Clank.
The Spurs’ LaMarcus Aldridge rebounded the ball and immediately dumped it off to their best clutch player, DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan crossed the half-court line with 15 seconds left in the game and knew he had to do something.
So, he attacked the left side of the basket.
But he was stopped by the Grizzlies’ Garret Temple.
He passed the ball out to Patty Mills, resituated himself at the top of the key and took the ball back.
There are now six seconds left.
DeRozan used a screen set by Mills and attacked the left side again. He went up for a shot against two defenders and…
Swish.
The crowd erupted and the whole team was cheering DeRozan on as they walked back to their bench.
But there’s still time on the clock and because of a bad call by the referees, the Spurs didn’t win the game. The Grizzlies won it by 1 point.
Regardless, DeRozan’s shot was epic and he apparently did it without tying his shoes properly.
On an episode of the Club 520 podcast, he told Jeff Teague the origin story of why he never ties his shoes properly.
“You know how most guys like to break they shoe in and everything? I like the tight fit so I gotta put on a new show every game. I don’t need to tie them.
“And it all started -I never forget - I got some Jordan 9s when I was like 11 years old. I got it for Christmas or some sh-t. So, I wanted to wear them in a game but my mom and dad was like, ‘These are school shoes.’ I’m like , ‘Nah, I wanna look clean in the game.’ And they were, ‘Aight. If you mess them up, that’s on you.’ So, I never wanted to tie my show to put a crease in them. So, I’m like, ‘I’m just gonna play in these motherf—kers like I’m walking around.’ So, it started from that moment of me never tying my shoes.”
Final Thoughts
Man, Deebo wild for this one.
He’s played well over 10 seasons in the NBA and is averaging 21.4 points per game on 47 percent shooting.
He was also the runner-up for Clutch Player of the Year last season, where he averaged 24 points a game.
And he achieved all of this without tying his shoes properly.
Legendary coach John Wooden, who emphasized putting on your socks and shoes properly, is rolling in his grave at the thought of DeRozan’s sneaker management right now.