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DeMar DeRozan has been named the March winner of the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Service Award for his mental health advocacy and efforts helping youth in Chicago.
DeRozan released "Dinners with DeMar," a series on YouTube featuring conversations with Draymond Green, Dwyane Wade and Damian Lillard about mental health. He also worked with Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health, a Chicago non-profit focused on offering therapy for those with financial hurdles.
Bulls executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas will present DeRozan with the David Robinson trophy before Wednesday's Play-In game against the Atlanta Hawks. And the NBA will donate $10,000 to Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health to honor DeRozan's work there.
"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," DeRozan said in an NBA news release on the award. "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."
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In Chicago, DeRozan brought Patrick Williams and Dalen Terry to join him for sessions at Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health, which already had benefited from proceeds from a DeRozan-inspired coffee drink and hoodie. He also partnered with Make-A-Wish to provide a memorable experience for a young kid and his family that involved meeting the Bulls and attending a practice and game.
Alex Caruso in January 2023 and Ayo Dosunmu in October 2023 are recent Bulls winners of this award.
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