His jersey says Bulls but his heart is with the Lakers. DeMar DeRozan is currently the only ray of hope for the struggling Chicago Bulls. But he grew up in Los Angeles admiring the Shaq & Kobe-led dynasty. On the Bulls’ big night, inducting the greats like Phil Jackson into the Ring of Honor, DeRozan was in awe of the legendary coach.

“It’s amazing to be able to play for such a historic franchise… me being from Compton growing up a Lakers fan seeing him [Phil Jackson], you know, the success he had,” revealed an excited DeRozan. “It was definitely amazing to be able to, you know, see all those guys, see pictures of them, see them come back and get the love that they deserve, so definitely cool,” the 6x All-Star said after the event.

It stood out that he mentioned Jackson’s tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers on the night the Bulls are honoring him. After winning six championships with Michael Jordan & Co., Jackson came to the Lakers. He won his next five with Los Angeles which remains on DeRozan’s mind.

Hilariously, the interviewer pointed out, “In your mind Phil’s the Lakers coach?” A bashful DeRozan admitted, “Right, I mean, I’m more aware of the time with the Lakers but, you know, just knowing the history of everything, it’s incredible to be able to witness it, feel like I’m right there with it by putting on a Bulls jersey every night.”

From the sound of it, he’s honored to have grown up witnessing Jackson’s Lakers career before playing for another one of the coach’s winning teams.

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There was no shortage of love for the secret Lakers fan either. Though the Bulls lost 131-140, DeMar DeRozan led the game with 39 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in 41 minutes. While he was ecstatic to share the same space as former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, another incident soured the night for him.

DeMar DeRozan demands respect for the Bulls

The Chicago Bulls inducted Phil Jackson among 13 honorees into its inaugural Ring of Honor on January 12. It also included the coach’s players, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman, all three of whom were no-shows. Another one of Jackson’s championship players, Steve Kerr is now a peer and was present as the Warriors coach.

Jackson got a deafening reception in United Center and DeRozan felt that. A sharp contrast was the boos the late GM, Jerry Krause received. The jeering saddened his widow, Thelma Krause, and disappointed the Bulls franchise and the NBA community online.

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DeMar DeRozan made sure the classless behavior didn’t reflect the Bulls’ sentiment. “That man has family, friends that are still here and ought to be appreciated. He shouldn’t be disrespected in no type of way by hearing boos. It just sucks that his family has to endure something like that. You can never take away what he created.” 

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When DeRozan was imagining watching one of his heroes, Phil Jackson, along with other Bulls icons honored on this night, he probably didn’t picture it this way. How would you react in his place?