Derrick Rose: NBA Hall of famer or not?

Derrick Rose. If you are following up with the NBA then you must have heard this name before. For the average NBA fan, Derrick Rose is just a decent rotation player, a well respected veteran amongst the league, who can produce when his number is called.

But what if I tell you that Derrick Rose, in the early 2010s was considered a superstar and was one of the faces of the league! 

He actually won one of the most sought after awards for an NBA player - The MVP trophy while being the youngest to ever do it! Yes, Derrick Rose was THAT good back then, an absolute BEAST!

Unstoppable speed, crazy athleticism, amazing and quick dribble skills. Derrick Rose was not your ordinary point guard. This guy was a highlight reel everytime he stepped on the floor. Just check the video below if you don't believe me!

But what actually happened? Why we do not hear his name anymore? Is Derrick Rose a Hall of famer?

Let's find out!

Superstar from the start!

Derrick Rose was born on October 4th, 1988 in Chigago, Illinoi. In highschool, he played for the Simeon Career academy. From his early highschool days, Rose was starting making a name for himself.  

In 2006, he led Simeon Academy to their first state championship since 1984, by draining the game winning shot against Richwood in the overtime. In his junior season, Rose was considered the 5th best prospect in the entire country! 

Rose commited to the university of Memphis which at that time, was under the legendary NCAA coach, John Calipari. Rose dominated the college competition as well. 

With averages of 14.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, he earned the All American third team honors. With a 38-2 record, memphis advanced to the NCAA's division 1 final 4. Rose's team lost against Kansas Jayhawks after Mario Chalmers hit the infamous buzzer beating shot in the overtime.

After the end of the season, Rose declared for the 2008 NBA Draft.

Chigaco Bulls savior!

A young Derrick Rose throws a reverse dunk against the Sacramento Kings

Rose was selected with 1st overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Chigaco Bulls. This was the ideal start since Rose was born and raised in Chigaco. 

The Bulls after Michael Jordan departed, where a mediocre low-ranking team with only 3 playoff appereances in the last 10 seasons. Rose had an immediate impact from the start. He won rookie of the year while averaging 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists per game with an efficient 48% from the field and 79% from the free throw line. 

Bulls finished 7th in the east and with a 41-41 record, they advanced to the playoffs where they faced, in the first round, the defending champions, Boston Celtics. 

It was a legendary 7th game series. The Bulls pushed Celtics to their limits but eventually lost. Derrick Rose put an absolute show in the entire series! He tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most playoff points by a rookie with 36 in game 1, while becoming the second player ever with 35 points and 10 assist in his playoff debut.

The Bulls lost that series but it was evident that they had finaly found the superstar player the desperately wanted after Jordan's departure.

Becoming a superstar!

Derrick Rose after a highlight play against New York Knicks

Rose after his first year kept improving his game. In his sophmore season he upped his points, scoring 20.8 per game while having 6 assists and 3.8 rebounds and was selected to his first all star game. 

Bulls finished the 2009-2010 season with the same record as the previous year, 41-41 and lost in the first round of the playoffs from Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in only 5 games.

In the offseason, Bulls fired head coach Viny Del Negro and replaced him with Tom Thibodeau, a defensive minded head coach. That move proved to be great for both sides. 

Youngest NBA MVP ever!

Derrick Rose receives the NBA MVP throphy award in 2011 (source: NBA.com)

Bulls, for the 2010-2011 season, improved to an astonishing 62-20, finishing first in the east and with the best record in the NBA. No one could stop Derrick Rose that year. He improved his stats in almost every statistical category. 

In 81 games, with averages of 25 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 7 apg, while shooting 45% from the field, Rose became a the no1 point guard in the league. Rose won the MVP that season and became the youngest player ever  winning the trophy at only 22 years of age!

Rose also had exceptional complimentary pieces around him, in the faces of a young defensive center named Joakim Noah, an all star small forward in Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer who was still a great power forward. Bulls advanced to the playoffs as favourites to win the championship. 

After cruising past the first two rounds against Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks, they faced in the conference finals, the newly formed Miami heat's three headed monster of Lebron, wade and Bosh.

Bulls weren't able to compete with Heat's firepower and fell after 5 games, but it didn't matter. Bulls where competitive again. They had finaly found their superstar, the successor of MJ in the face of D-Rose and the right players and coaching staff to support him.

The future seemed bright for the young Bulls....

The ACL tear

The 2011-2012 season was marked as the year where the NBA lockout happened. Rose, in his fourth year, faced some injuries which caused him to miss 27 out of the 66 games of the shortened season. Even with their superstar missing that many games, Bulls where still the best team in the NBA.

They advanced to the playoffs as a first seed and faced the 8th seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. What happened is something that hunts many chigaco bulls fans still to this day. 

In the first game of the series, Bulls had a safe 12-point lead with only 1:22 left in the game. The game was over at that point. Rose had no reason to be on the court at that moment. 

As he drove to the basket, he made a jump and passed the ball. He landed akwardly in his left knee and fell to the floor.

The whole United Center frozed. Rose layed down for a few minutes, grabbing his left knee and was eventually helped off the court. The MRI in the next day revelead the worst fear to the city of Chicago. Rose had suffered a torn ACL. 

He had to miss the remaining of the playoffs and the whole 2012-2013 season. The shock was huge for the Bulls. They were elimated from the 76ers after 7 games.

Setback after setback...

(Image source: Sports Illustrated)

Rose after missing the 2013-2014 NBA season due to recovering from the ACL tear, was ready to go for 2014-2015 campaign. But that didn't go as planned. 

In a game against Portland Trail Blazers, the 10th of the season, Rose suffered another serious injury. In a non contact moment he tore his meniscus on his right knee and again he had to miss the rest of the season. 

The things weren't looking good for the young superstar. In the next season, 2015-2016 Rose returned back to action but was nowhere near the MVP level he was 3 years ago. After only playing 51 games, he tore his meniscus on his right knee, the same he sustained in the previous year.

Rose returned in the playoffs and gave hope to the Chicago Bulls fans. In 12 games, he averaged 20.3 points, 6.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds and a vintage game winner against Lebron's Cavaliers in the second round. Although that wasn't enough. Bulls got elimimated after 6 games.

End of an era

Derrick Rose with the New York Knicks in 2016-2017 NBA season

The next year Rose played 66 games, the most since his ACL tear but his perfomance regressed. It was evident that he was not the same player anymore. His athleticism, his explosiveness after all those injuries, were gone. Bulls missed the 2016-2017 playoffs and decided to part ways with Rose in the summer.

Rose was traded to the New York Knicks. The Derrick Rose era in Chigaco was over.

With the Knicks, Rose had a decent season but he couldn't stay healthy. After playing in 62 games while averaging 18 points, he tore his meniscus in his left knee and had to be sidelined. Knicks finished the season with 31-51 record and missed the playoffs. 

In the offseason, Rose signed a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers but after just 7 games, an ankle injury sidelined him for 2 months. On February 8th, 2018 he was traded to the Utah Jazz who released him into free agency. Rose's star days were over. 

Minnesota timberwolves and career high

Derrick Rose with the Minnesota Timberwolves against Boston Celtics

Rose, after his release by Jazz, signed a contract with Minnesota Timberwolves and was reunited with Tom Thibodeau, his former coach in the Bulls and teammates Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler. Rose finished the 2017-2018 season with Minnesota and was signed for the 2018-2019 season also.

Rose played only 51 games for 2018-2019 due to injuries, but he was pretty good. In October 31st of the same year Rose gave to the NBA fans an unbelievable perfomance. 

Against the Utah Jazz, D-Rose errupted for a career high 50 points and the game winning block. After the game was over, the whole Target center arena was chanting 'MVP'. It was one of the most emotional moments in NBA history. Rose still had that player in him after all those injuries his body went through.

'I played my heart out', 'My teammates told me before the game, just play my game. And tonight was a hell of a night.' Rose said after his career high.

Timberwolves finished the season 11th in the west with a 36-46 record and missed the playoffs. Rose left the team in free agency. 

Is Derrick Rose a hall of famer?

After the Timberwolves, Rose played for the Detroit Pistons, the Knicks (again) and as of today the Memphis Grizzlies. Rose has no plans to retire yet. For the past 5 seasons he had some good perfomances but he never managed to play more than 50 games.

In fact, Rose in his 15 year career has only managed to play 723 out of 1230 games! That's an absurd number of missed games! Is it fair to say that he is responsible for those injuries? No, his body just couldn't keep up. 

Is Derrick Rose a bust? Certainly no, thats out of the question. Rose for me, is the biggest NBA what if that hunts many fans of the game. He had all the tools to succeed and he actually showed what he was capable of. Rose's career is one of the most sad and depressing what if NBA stories.

Is Rose an NBA hall of famer? Well, thats a difficult question. He only played 2 years of superstar basketball. But the answer for me is quite obvious - YES! Why? Because Derrick Rose taught us one of the most important lessons in life: Never give up, whatever happens just keep trying, do what you love.

Derrick Rose fell 99 times but he got up 100. For that reason and only, he deserves a spot in the basketball pantheon.

'Until the next time, thank you for being here'

The Sports Bust - James Bartzis