(670 The Score) Bulls star DeMar DeRozan's historic first season in Chicago has continued to garner more and more national attention. The latest, an NBA MVP straw poll from ESPN, has DeRozan listed among the top-10 MVP candidates as the league heads into the All-Star weekend.
ESPN asked 100 media members to participate in the poll, according to the piece. In an attempt to closely mimic how actual MVP voting works, at least two media members from each of the NBA's markets were asked to vote. Everyone submitted a five-player ballot, and a point system was assigned to each place -- 10 points for first, seven for second, five for third, etc.
After tallying all the votes up, Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid finished in first place with 789 points. He was followed closely by Denver center Nikola Jokic (754), and Milwaukee big man Giannis Antetokounmpo (512) rounded out the podium.
Interestingly enough, DeRozan, who finished sixth in the previous straw poll by ESPN, dropped a spot to seventh in this latest one. He ended up with 73 points but did pick up one vote apiece for both second and third place. He had more fifth-place votes (16) than any other spot.
DeRozan is in the midst of one of the best stretches of his career, and his 38-point performance in a win against the Kings on Wednesday was his eighth game in a row with 30 or more points. It's the longest streak by a Bulls player since Michael Jordan did it in January 1996. DeRozan is also on a record-setting streak of scoring 35 or more points on 50% or better shooting in seven straight games. That's the longest streak in NBA history. He's averaging 28.1 points per game, the fourth-best mark in the league.
