“When Jordan was 40, he played 82 games, that is how I set my goals” – 5X NBA All-Star idolizes Michael Jordan’s longevity and consistency in NBA, says he’ll retire if his passion and abilities slump

Chicago Bulls star Demar DeRozan is coming off probably the best season of his career. The Bull’s guard is entering what will be his 14th NBA season this year. In a conversation with Marc Spears of Andscape, DeRozan reflected on his career and the goals he has going forward.

At year 14 in the league and 33-years-old, a lot of athletes start thinking about how their careers are winding down. DeRozan appears to be focusing on what’s ahead and how much more basketball he has left. He will likely surpass the 20,000-point threshold this season for his career, which is a huge benchmark and can be found on many Hall of Fame resumes.

One of the driving parts of this discussion was his durability and longevity. The 5-time All-Star was available and consistently a part of the Bulls line-up. In contrast, his teammates Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball both have not had such luck. DeRozan appeared in a team high 76 games of the teams 82 regular-season contest.

During a discussion with Spears, Demar spoke about the importance of how he takes care of his body and stays healthy.

“I always try to take care of myself. If I feel something, I work on that. Treat that. Guys have to be more conscious. The oldest player on the team can’t be playing more games than everybody. Guys will be more conscious of it this time around.”

In this conversation, he reflected on the aging players when he came into the league such as Shaq, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett. DeRozan discussed how they were not the same as he remembered them coming up. He then pivoted to discussing players that he admired in their later ages.

He talks about seeing players like Chris Paul and LeBron James who are currently still considered as top players in the league despite their age. Demar stated

“Now you look at CP, he just carried a young team a couple years ago to the playoffs. The older you get, the better. LeBron is 20 years in, and it looks like he can play another five years easily. You can tell that the guys that are taking care of themselves are playing long years. They are such a motivational thing for me loving the game of basketball. I can do it as long as I take care of myself and have a love and a passion for it. It is definitely possible.”

In the piece, DeRozan pondered the possibility of playing to the age of 40 years old and also being a good player who will bring it every night. One specific example he stated was that of Michael Jordan in his final years with the Washington Wizards.

“As I continue to get older, I find more and more ways just to try to keep feeling good. I always try to set a goal every season. When [Michael] Jordan was 40, he played 82 games. That is how I set my goals. I want to play 82 games. I want to play a whole season as I continue to get older, and with that be conscious of how to take care of myself physically throughout the season. It gets easier every year, honestly.”

DeRozan was a huge part of the Bulls' success last season. Not many players who have reached their 30s have career-high averages in points per game and 3-point percentage. Demar did that last season while also being mentioned in MVP conversations throughout the season. It will be interesting to see how long he can keep up that high level of play.