(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Some people may not remember, but years ago, Derrick Rose was a legitimate force in the NBA.
During his first few years in the league, he was an explosive and fairly prolific point guard, and in fact, he may have been the most athletically explosive point guard in league history at the time.
During the 2010-11 season, he averaged 25.0 points and 7.7 assists per game while leading his Chicago Bulls to the best record in pro basketball.
As a result, on this day in 2011, Rose was awarded with the regular-season MVP award, and the voting wasn’t the least bit close.
12 YEARS AGO TODAY
22-year-old Derrick Rose received 113 of 121 first-place votes to become the youngest MVP in NBA history.
1st Place Votes
LeBron James (4)
Dwight Howard (3)
Kobe Bryant (1) pic.twitter.com/zK1DWW0sXu
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) May 3, 2023
That year, the Bulls motored into the Eastern Conference Finals, where they fell to LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
Hopes were high for the following season, and Rose had another banner year while Chicago tied the San Antonio Spurs for the most wins during the regular season.
But those hopes were destroyed when he tore his ACL in the Bulls’ playoff opener versus the Philadelphia 76ers, forcing him to miss the rest of the postseason and all of the following season.
He has never been the same since, as he has suffered numerous injuries over the years.
Today, Rose is in his third season as a reserve guard with the New York Knicks, and although he was a key member of the team the previous two seasons, he has seen his playing time cut drastically this year.
Still, the Knicks have had a strong year, as they returned to the playoffs and upset the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, and they’re now tied at one win apiece with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
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