Few, if any, NBA players as talented as Derrick Rose have had to endure as much misfortune during their careers. Rose was the youngest MVP in history 2011 and seemed poised to be one of the faces of the league, but his stardom was derailed by a torn left ACL in the 2012 playoffs, an injury which caused him to miss the entire 2012-13 season.
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Rose returned and ended up playing 15 seasons. He was never the same athletically after the injury, though, especially as he dealt with more injuries, including a torn meniscus in his right knee that first season back and later knee and ankle injuries.
Still, Rose’s story is one of perseverance over adversity. He never let that injury define him. His signature moment occurred in 2018, when he dropped a career-high 50 points to help his Timberwolves beat the Jazz.
Jeff Teague told a story on the Club 520 Podcast last year of how Rose called his shot before that game. Teague and Jimmy Butler were both set to miss the game with injuries of their own, and, according to Teague, Rose told him, “I’m going for it. I’m getting 50 tonight.”
D-Rose confirmed that story to be true when he appeared on the Numbers On The Board podcast yesterday. He laughed as he remembered, “Jimmy wasn’t playing, Jeff wasn’t playing. That’s 20-something shots I can shoot.”
“I’m going off field goal attempts,” he continued. “That’s 20 shots I can get up. If I do my thing, and I make the majority of these, I can keep shooting, and that’s what happened.”
Rose is able to laugh about that night now, but he was overcome with emotion when the game ended. He averaged 18 points a game that year and had never scored more than 42 even in his best years, so to have such a special moment after going through so much meant the world.
When Teague told the story, he recounted how the entire locker room had tears streaming down their faces while they watched Rose’s on-court interview, not unlike many D-Rose fans who watched from home. He also said that Rose’s performance was the single most impressive one he’d ever witnessed in person.
The greatest athletes have the power to transport us to a different time and place with their sheer athletic brilliance. For one night, Rose was able to turn back the clock and remind everyone of what could have been, and how, even though he’d suffered through some truly terrible luck, he still had that greatness in him.
Seven years later, Rose’s 50-piece is still one of the most indelible NBA moments of the past 25 years. The fact that he called his shot makes it even more incredible.
