MIAMI — Over the past 48 hours, she’s become a viral sensation among NBA fans, especially those of the Bulls.
But it appears that Diar DeRozan won’t be making her way down to Florida to provide some more support for the team as they hope to get into the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
During his conversation with reporters after the Bulls shootaround on Friday, DeMar DeRozan confirmed that his nine-year-old daughter will not be attending his game against the Heat in the play-in tournament on Friday.
According to the guard, she is in school, which is what he initially said on Wednesday after Diar went viral during the Bulls’ play-in win against the Raptors Wednesday.
So unless there is a last-minute change, the Bulls will have to go on without her in the stands.
She caught the attention of many by screaming during free throws by Toronto at the Scotiabank Arena, which was caught by television broadcast cameras and microphones. Diar’s shrieks took on a life of their own when the Raptors shot 18-of-36 from the free throw line, which really helped her father’s team.
Down by 19 points in the third quarter, the Bulls rallied for the 109-105 win, becoming the first tenth-seeded team in the play-in tournament to win a game in its short history. That’s given the Bulls a chance to lock up a spot as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Many saw Diar as an aid to the Bulls’ chances to pull that off, with United Airlines even posting on social media that they’d be willing to fly her to Miami for the game.
It appears, however, that she’ll have to wait for another day to cheer on her dad, and perhaps get under his opponent’s skin.