How Good Was Derrick Rose Actually?

Prime Derrick Rose was the most athletic point guard we've ever seen what too strong for most point guards with a mindblowing first step D Rose was able to explode and fly in the air like he had Springs in his legs bending the laws of physics night after night for 3 and A2 years he was the most electrifying player in the NBA serving some of the most disrespectful dunks we've ever seen and then in the first game of the 2012 playoffs Rose fell to the floor of the United Center holding on to his knee his face Twisted in agony Derrick Rose as we knew him was over not officially over as Derrick Rose played for 12 more years with some legendary moments like the playoff gamewinner against Cleveland or the 50 points he scored for the Timberwolves but Derek Rose as we originally knew him ceased to exist that fateful night in 2012 his story remains one of the biggest wha ifs in NBA history because if Derrick Rose had remained healthy he probably would have been one of the top five point guards of all time in 2008 the Chicago Bulls had only a 1. 7% chance of getting the number one pick the number one pick in the 2008 NBA draft will be made by the Chicago Bulls but the luck of the lottery smiled upon them and they got the chance to draft their Hometown hero born in the south side of Chicago one of the most dangerous and crime-infested places on the planet derck Rose had a tough childhood Rose grew up in a five-bedroom house with a single mom and three brothers but up to 13 people would live in the house at one time his two older brothers were drug dealers like a lot of other young kids in his neighborhood but dererk didn't want that life his drug of choice was basketball and he spent most of his time playing ball at Murray Park also known as murder Park due to the number of killings that had happened there and even though he was surrounded by guns and narcotics Derek was protected and the neighborhood gangs never gave him trouble partly because they were scared of his mother Brenda who protected Derek like an angry wolf would protect her cub and partly because he was a local celebrity from an early age everybody knew Rose was special and had a chance to make it out of the hood I was the best kid in my neighborhood at a young age my whole life I was always the one everyone was talking about I've never really wanted the attention but it has always been there as a High School junior Rose LED his high school Simeon Career Academy to a State title with a buzzer beating Jumper in the finals he's going oneon-one the L the score Derek Rose with the bucket in his senior season Simeon won the title again with rose averaging 25 points nine assists nine rebounds and three and a half Steals and Derek finished his high school career with a record of 120 and 12 he was wanted by several major programs but he chose the University of Memphis because of Coach Calipari and because he believed they would prepare him best for the NBA which was the only thing on his mind since he was 12 with rose on the te team the Memphis Tigers started the season with 26 consecutive wins finishing the regular season with a 33 and r record and were the number one ranked team in the Country Rose led the Tigers to the final four It's UCLA taking on Memphis two number one seeds it's really a match up between the point guards of Derrick Rose and Darren collon where he scored 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the Tigers to an 8567 win over UCLA in the national championship game Rose scored 17 points along with six rebounds and seven assists but Memphis lost the game in overtime despite missing out on the championship Rose's talent and winning pedigree were undeniable as he won 92% of games in high school and college this uh the state championship trophy that we won last year and these are some of those Fells that helped get this trophy due to a controversy over Rose's SAT test which he probably didn't take at all and had someone else take the SATs for him the entire Memphis 08 season was deleted from the NCAA record books the SAT board uh themselves like the they do an independent investigation they conclude that the handwriting on the SAT does not match up with Derrick Rose still despite the controversy all the NBA teams loved Rose's Game and his potential however before the 2008 draft there was a huge debate on who was a better Prospect Rose or Michael Beasley I see Rose and Beasley why are these two players creating so much bud we know who the first two picks are going to be we're not sure exactly what order the decision is going to be between Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley but the Bulls believed in their Hometown point guard selecting him with the first overall pick the Chicago Bulls select Derek Rose from the University of Memphis as Rose became just the fifth point guard in history to be selected first overall and after the first month of the Season it was clear that Chicago made the right choice the pressure of being the first overall pick meant nothing to Rose who came out of the gate fearless and ready to dominate no point guard in the league could match his speed and when given an inch of space Derek would explode to the cup for a thunderous dunk and even if the lane was closed Rose still found a way to finish through contact with an unreal ability to contort his body in midair moving past over and sometimes under Defenders it was something cultivated on the concrete playgrounds of Murray Park where there were no referees and guys trying to take his head off to stop him from scoring when we used to play in the park there were no fouls that's why I shoot the crazy shots I do because I knew I was going to get fouled but I still got to make the shot averaging 16. 8 points 6.

3 assists and 3. 9 rebounds Rose propelled a mediocre Bulls team to the NBA Playoffs almost unanimously winning the Rookie of the Year award and in the opening round of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics and their big three Rose immediately proved he was not afraid at the moment in game one won he scored 36 points which tied Kareem Abdul Jabar for the most points for a rookie in their playoff debut although the Celtics had been the best team in the NBA and would go on to win the title that year Rose and the Bulls pushed them to seven games in arguably the most electrifying series of the playoffs Rose improved his numbers from the regular season averaging 26 and six on 49% shooting but it wasn't about the numbers with Derek what Rose showed as a rookie was resilience and fearlessness with each drive to the basket something that was ingrained in his character and something that was reminiscent of the best days of Alan Iverson you could foul him hard and put his butt on the floor 100 times but he would get up 101 times dust himself off and keep attacking and this kind of bravery and mental fortitude propelled him into super stardom and when the 2010 season started Rose took the Reigns and became clear leader of the Bulls giving Chicago a taste of excellence and hope that they hadn't felt since Michael Jordan even though he was an introvert who didn't speak much Rose spoke through his actions leading by example and his fighting Never Back Down Spirit permeated through the entire team Rose made his first All-Star team with averages of 21 points four rebounds and six assists per game leading the Bulls to the playoffs again however in the first round of the playoffs LeBron's Cavs proved too strong winning the series in five games still Rose shined once again proving that he was one of those players who only got better in the playoffs averaging 20 27 points three rebounds and seven assists per game and for the 2011 season the Bulls fired Vinnie Del Negro and appointed Tom Tibido as head coach we're excited to have him as the leader of our basketball team and and want to welcome Tom whose hard-nosed defensive style went hand inand with the mentality of the Bulls core players in Rose joem Noah and Lal Deng Chicago's defense improved from 11th in the NBA to number one and their offense went from 27th to 11th with the second best net rating in the league on a defensive-minded team D Rose carried the offense on his back with 25 points and 7. 7 assists per game fully establishing himself as the most entertaining player in the league he was splitting double teams like they weren't even there jumping over defenders like they were middle schoolers he was always in attack mode colliding Into the Heart of the defense like a human version of a Warhammer Rose was the perfect representative of his era an isolation scorer who creates for others by creating advantages one on one and a guy who can win any game by himself he had his flaws and the lack of a Dependable jump shot was his primary one which was represented by 44% shooting but still with his Relentless drives to the basket Rose was bending defenses and creating so much pressure becoming only the third player since the 1973 NBA season to record 2,000 points and 600 assists in a single season Rose led the Bulls to 62 wins in the regular season their most since 1998 securing the best record in the NBA D Rose received 113 out of 120 First Place votes for MVP and at 22 years and 6 months old he became the youngest MVP in NBA [Applause] history when the playoffs came around Rose's numbers Rose once again he averaged 27 points and seven assists in the first round against the Pacers and in the second round against the Hawks he was even better with 30 points and 10 assists on average then the Eastern Conference Finals offered a long awaited Clash between the two best teams in the East the Bulls and the Miami Heat who had their newly assembled big three led by the biggest villain in the NBA at the time LeBron James despite the bulls having the best record in the league Miami was favored in the series Chicago is going to have a tough time scoring in this series you know I think Miami is probably set up a little bit more with the big three but Rose and the Bulls stomped them in game one winning by 21 points fueled by 28 and six from d however for the rest of the series Miami's coach Eric spola made the smart adjustment of having LeBron James guard Row in the fourth quarter as he was the only player strong and fast enough to slow down the MVP Chicago averaged just 14 points in the fourth quarter of the next four games and Miami won each one as the rest of the Bulls struggled to score without the usual offensive output from Rose Derek still averaged 23 points and six assists in the series but he shot just 35% from the field and even though the games were closer than a 4-1 score would suggest Miami deservedly won the series and advanced to the NBA finals those first few years he was just amazing that MVP year literally our whole game plan was trying to figure out how to slow him down like the entire game plan the NBS collected bargaining agreement expires midnight Thursday and if there's no deal by then well the owners could impose a lockout the next NBA season was put on hold due to a lockout with the season finally kicking off on Christmas Day and the Bulls open the year in the Staples Center against Kobe and the lak with the score 8786 in the Lakers favor and 15 seconds to go the Bulls secured the final possession and everybody knew who was getting the ball the bulls with a chance to win here on Christmas Day throw left throws in the lane throws good D Rose if you watched that game in real time you had a sense of security that D Rose would make the right play and win the game for Chicago that was the aura of Derrik Rose at the time as he was the Superstar Chicago had been missing for over a decade and even though nobody was saying that he was on Jordan's level his play and mentality made Chicago hopeful believing he was the chosen one a superstar from the city that would carry them to their next championship however Rose's 2012 season was marked by minor injuries as he played in only 60% of games with his numbers decreasing across the board but despite Rose missing nearly half the season Chicago still secured the number one seed in the East and everybody was ready for another clash between the Bulls in the heat but that never happened Eng game one of the Bulls first round matchup with the Sixers they were up by double digits with a minute and a half remaining but coach Tibido was Notorious for playing his starters 40 plus minutes per game so Rose was still in the game even though the win was secured then as he was making another drive to the basket Rose landed awkwardly and crumpled to the floor holding his left knee his ACL was gone and so was his career as we knew it Derrick Rose has a torn ACL suffered in game one of the Bulls first playoff series against the Sixers he missed the entire 2013 NBA season and when he returned in 2014 he wasn't the same Derrik Rose he played gingerly not fully trusting his surgically repaired knee without the same burst of speed and athleticism that used to leave defenders in the dust and then 10 games later another disaster the meniscus in his other knee gave out and one more season went down the drain after two seasons of suffering and Rehabilitation Derek finally returned for the 2014 2015 season but he was a shadow of his former self averaging 16 points on a horrible 35% shooting on January 28th Rose scored a step back jumper with 7 seconds on the clock to give the Bulls a 113 111 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors then 2 weeks later the NBA World got the news which made everyone's heart sink Derrik Rose injured his knee again with another meniscus tear Derrick Rose reported with right knee pain today and exam and subsequent MRI confirmed a medial miniscus tear of the right knee slowly but surely Rose became synonymous with knee injuries instead of highflying dunks but there was Hope on the horizon because this time he was ruled out of play for only 6 weeks and was set to return before the playoffs on April 18th 2015 Rose played in his first playoff game since that ill- fated game one of the 2012 playoffs scoring 23 points and seven assists on nine of 16 shooting and against the Bucks tonight in Milwaukee the Bulls try to put a strangle hold on this best of seven first round Series in game three of the series Derek had another vintage performance finishing with 34 points and eight assists in a tight 113 106 overtime win the Bulls defeated Milwaukee in six games with 19 points and six assists per game from Rose who was like a wounded tiger clearly not at 100% but still dangerous and ready for the kill if he gets close enough to his prey and that's exactly what he did in game three of the second round against LeBron and the Cavs with the game tied at 96 and 3 seconds left Derek was given the opportunity to take the final shot once again displaying his Killer Instinct finds rose rose trying to get open fires away Rose led the Bulls to Victory with 30 points and seven assists and in game four he was even better finishing with 31 points but his great game was spoiled by another game-winning buzzer beater it's gone LeBron James at the buzzer King James proved to be too much for the Bulls to handle as he led the Cavs to a 4-2 series Victory but Rose didn't disappoint averaging 22 points five rebounds and six assists across six games and the story continued throughout the 2016 season Rose was finally healthy appearing in 66 games and he had flashes of Brilliance like his fourth quarter takeover against the Thunder or 30 points against the Knicks in the garden however his great games were too far apart and they didn't happen night after night like they used to it was starting to get painfully obvious that the Derek Rose of old wasn't going to show up the former MVP was now 27 years old and was supposed to be in his prime but instead he only averaged 16 points and five assists on 43% shooting far from Superstar level and even though they had quality players like Jimmy Butler Pal Gasol and Nicola Mirotic the Bulls finished the season with a 424 record which wasn't good enough to make the playoffs and then a shock the Bulls management decided to trade their Hometown hero to New York giving up on the dream of Rose leading them to the promised land everything plays [Music] out and this business or in my life period it always be twists and turns like this in hindsight it was a logical move to trade the most expensive player on on the roster who wasn't performing like he used to but at that moment the trade sent shock waves throughout the NBA and it was another reminder that Rose wasn't the same player anymore however with the Knicks Rose had a revitalizing season it wasn't the old Above the Rim Derek Rose but he wasn't trying to be that anymore instead of dunks he used what he had left and that was speed and craftiness around the basket even though he wasn't jumping over defenders he was still quick enough to go around them and create shots with his handle Rose played 64 games for the Knicks in the 2017 season averaging 18 points and 4.

5 assists on a very respectable 47% shooting however just when his career started to have an upward trajectory another injury brought him down it was another miniscus tear and a fourth knee surgery in a span of 6 years I know he's kind of low in spirit but we'll uh support him the best we can his teammates and hopefully he can get back to 100% to make matters worse it was a contract year for Rose so rather than getting a solid New Deal he was forced to sign a minimum contract with the Cavaliers but as always he got injured again after just 16 games with Cleveland causing him to step away from the team and seriously Ponder retirement I'm not trying to be a distraction to the team or anything like that I'm here to be a professional about any situation I get put into and to own up to it and Be A Man About It developing story into sports center Cavaliers Garder gross has reportedly left the team and according to our Insider Adrian wowski and caps reporter D McManaman Rose is unsure about his future in the NBA and yet despite all the bad luck pain and suffering Rose was a fighter he was still that kid from Murray Park who became the number one pick and the MVP after getting traded by the Cavs and waved by the Jazz D Rose signed with the Timberwolves where he reunited with Coach Tibido and resurrected his career in the eighth game of the 2019 season just 6 months after he considered retiring Rose had arguably the greatest game of his career against the Jazz erupting for a career high 50 points on 19 for 31 shooting with six assists and securing the victory with a block on Utah's final shot as time expired has it blocked in the corner by who else Derek 2011 MVP Rose even without the vertical athleticism Rose reminded the world what could have been and after the game he gave one of the most emotional interviews in NBA history and we got a young group my job is to come in be the veteran help guys out lead by by example you see me talking it's the most I ever talked to to my teammates in my whole career so means a lot who Tibido said that Rose had the character the humility and the courage he's probably maybe one of the most mentally tough people that I've ever come across in the 2019 season Rose shot 48% from the field and a career high High 37% for three averaging 18 points off the bench and receiving strong consideration for the Sixth Man of the Year then in 2020 Rose signed with the Pistons where he once again had a career year in terms of efficiency averaging 18 points and 5.