Nov 12, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) dribbles the ball as New York Knicks guard Courtney Lee (5) defends during the third quarter in a game at Air Canada Centre. The Toronto Raptors won 118-107. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Nine games into the 2016-17 season, Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan is still uncontainable and worth every penny of his nine-figure contract. 

When the New York Knicks came up to Toronto Saturday night, they brought one of the NBA’s worst defenses with them. DeRozan had scored 30-plus in seven of his eight games prior to the one against the Knicks, and he was knocking down a staggering 53 percent of his shots.

DeRozan would finish with 33, and he became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1988-89 to score at least 300 points through his team’s first nine games.

Rick Barry, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tiny Archibald, and World B. Free, are also on that list.

The two-time All-Star had a lackluster first half shooting the ball, buried just five of his 13 shot attempts and collected 13 points. Toronto entered halftime trailing New York 56-53. DeRozan was a brand new player coming out of the break, and he equaled his first half scoring total in the third quarter on 4-of-6 shooting.

His final seven came in the fourth quarter, and the Raptors escaped with the 118-107 victory.

The Compton native is still the NBA’s leading scorer at 34 points a night, and his shooting clip is nearly 53 percent despite dreadful shooting from long-range (21.4 percent).

While everyone is looking to launch 28-foot threes, DeRozan is doing just fine inside of the arc and is, undoubtedly, the NBA’s most efficient mid-range player:

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