DeMar DeRozan named NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award March winner

DeMar DeRozan released a video series where he and current and former players discuss mental health.

NEW YORK – The NBA today announced Chicago Bulls guard-forward DeMar DeRozan as the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner for the month of March.  DeRozan is being recognized for his efforts in mental health advocacy and supporting youth in Chicago.  DeRozan will receive the David Robinson trophy and the NBA will donate $10,000 to Coffee, Hip-Hop and Mental Health, a mental health advocacy group in Chicago.

Congratulations to @chicagobulls DeMar DeRozan for being named the #NBACares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner for the month of March for his efforts in mental health advocacy and supporting youth in Chicago.

Learn more at https://t.co/DUsvVv4vqS pic.twitter.com/Sd9fztzE7T

— NBA Cares (@nbacares) April 17, 2024

Throughout February and March, DeRozan released “Dinners with DeMar” – a new video series where he hosts current and former players to have impactful conversations focusing on mental health at the dinner table.  Since the series launched, DeRozan has hosted three full-length episodes featuring Draymond Green, Damian Lillard and Dwyane Wade.  Each episode features more than 45 minutes of meaningful dialogue and transparent conversations on mental health for athletes and society.  To date, the series has garnered more than 425,000 views on YouTube and serves as an effort to break the stigma surrounding mental health challenges.  Additionally, DeRozan hosted a premiere for the series at his alma mater, the University of Southern California (USC), where DeRozan and student-athletes from the men’s and women’s basketball teams discussed how they manage their mental health.  Full episodes and short clips are available on DeRozan’s YouTube channel with additional episodes to be released in the future.

Throughout the season, DeRozan has partnered with Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health (CHHAMH), a Chicago non-profit that provides free therapy to those facing financial barriers to break the stigma around mental health.  In March, CHHAMH launched a DeMar DeRozan-inspired coffee drink and hoodie with proceeds benefiting the local coffee shop and their weekly men’s group therapy meetings for an entire year.  DeRozan amplified the impact by inviting Bulls teammates, Patrick Williams and Dalen Terry, to join him in a few sessions with the men’s therapy group.

“As a Bulls and NBA player, I’m grateful for the opportunity to build a platform I can use to make real change and work to break the stigma around mental health,” said DeRozan.  “Throughout the years, I’ve seen what can happen when people have honest conversations about mental health and understand that everyone faces challenges, including professional athletes. I look forward to creating more forums for difficult but necessary conversations and providing more resources to support mental health for those who most need it.”

In addition to his work around mental health advocacy, DeRozan has been engaged in the Chicago community supporting youth.  In March, DeRozan partnered with Make-A-Wish to provide a VIP experience for a child and his family that included a meet and greet with the Bulls team, watching practice and courtside seats to a Bulls game.  Earlier this year, DeRozan also hosted a young Bulls fan and cancer survivor along with his family on the team plane for an away game.

DeRozan will be recognized in-arena as the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner during pre-game of the Apr. 17 Hawks-Bulls NBA Play-In Tournament game.  Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas will present DeRozan with the award.

The NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award honors Bob Lanier, an NBA League Office executive and NBA Cares Ambassador for more than 30 years.  He had an enormous influence on the NBA family and young people globally, traveling the world to teach the values of the game and making a positive impact through his kindness and generosity.  The legacy he built will continue to live on through the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award recognition, which honors the next generation of players’ commitment to positively impacting their community throughout the NBA season.  Each monthly winner receives the David Robinson trophy and the NBA makes a donation to the charity or foundation of the player’s choice.  To learn more, please visit https://communityassist.nba.com/.