Doug McDermott didn't truly feel like a professional basketball player until Taylor Swift came along.

[SHOP: Buy a Doug McDermott jersey]

McDermott's Bulls were in New York to take on the Knicks Wednesday night and the rookie quickly realized he was on a much bigger stage than anything he experienced at Creighton when he saw Swift, whose album "1989" debuted this week, (h/t For The Win):

McDermott said his welcome to the NBA moment came when he saw Ben Stiller and Taylor Swift sitting courtside.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 30, 2014

Despite the distraction, it didn't take McDermott long to "shake it off," finishing with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting (2-of-5 from beyond the arc) with five rebounds, two assists and a steal (of her heart??) in just over 24 minutes of his NBA debut.

Apparently, McDermott is a big fan of Swift's, tweeting at her last year:

.@taylorswift13 @taylorswift13 @taylorswift13 #taylormeetsdoug

— Doug McDermott (@dougmcd3) March 13, 2013

McDermott isn't the only T-Swift fan on the Bulls:

Will McDermott find his way into a song on her next album?

Players gonna play, play, play, play, play.

Get it, Dougie.

McDermott and the Bulls return to the court Friday night against LeBron James' Cavs at 7 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet.