There are not a handful of basketball players who could do what a 20-year-old Derrick Rose did as soon as he came into the league.
Advertisement
The 1st pick of the 2008 Draft, the 6ft 2” point guard was the next big thing in Chicago after Michael Jordan. In the following years, he will rise to the expectations and take the Bulls to where they hadn’t been since its dynasty broke up 10 years ago.
But even before reaching his full potential and leading the Bulls to two straight #1 finishes in the East over the Miami Heat of 2010-11 & 11-12, Rose, in his rookie season, had given glimpses of what he will be bringing to the table in the upcoming years.
In 2009, not only did the future 3x All-Star lead his team to the Playoffs which had finished last season as the #11 team in the East, he almost upset the defending champions, Boston Celtics, in round 1, in the absence of their big man Kevin Garnett who was out due to injury until next season.
When Derrick Rose torched the Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo led Celtics in his Playoffs debut
His Playoffs debut game might have been the game of his season. The dynamic guard gave a trailer of what he’ll bring to every game next season onwards in the game that also featured Hall of Famers Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and legendary point guard of the Cs Rajon Rondo.
He posted up 36 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steal in a 105-103 Game 1 win. Rose and his young Bulls would take the reigning champions into deep waters but would lose in Game 7.
After averaging 16.8p/3.9r/6.3a in his first season and 19.7/6.3/6.4 in the first post-season and earning a Rookie of the Year award D.Rose became the youngest MVP in the league’s history in his third year averaging 25/7.7/4.1 in 2010-11 season leading his team to a Conference Finals.
That would be the first time since the Jordan era that the Chicago team would reach the Finals and to millions of NBA fans’ disappointment, it would be the last. Following that season, Rose would suffer a horrific ACL tear which ruined a career that was tending towards greatness.
The man is still around being a useful off-the-bench scorer due to today’s medical advancements and his will to play the game despite multiple recurring injuries, but he is still one of the biggest “What Ifs?” of the NBA.
