COMMODORE MEDIA GROUP

On May. 3, 2011 Derrick Rose was given the 2010-2011 most valuable basketball player award, marking him as the youngest player to ever win the  Maurice Podoloff trophy at twenty two. Beating out players like Dwight Howard, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant. Even though he beat out all of those competitors Rose would be traded just five years later and wasn’t the same after.

Before Derrick Rose was traded to the Knicks, he looked like an all-star caliber player who was destined to become the next big guard of the 2010s. But the Bulls didn’t trade Rose just for no reason. Before Derrick Rose was twenty-seven, he already had three separate knee injuries. First to his left knee on April 28th, 2012, in just game 1 of the first round of a playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. Which put that season and the next 2011-2012 season on hold. But Derrick came back next season looking strong, but in just ten games, Rose tore his right meniscus, landing awkwardly after a jumpshot. After rehabbing during the offseason, Rose came back hungry, ready to take back what was his, trying to show the Chicago fans that the “Drose” that they knew and loved is ready to make a full comeback.

In the 13-14 season, Rose looked like the Rose they all knew and loved, averaging 17.7 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game. Not as good as Derrick’s 25.0 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds, but it was just enough to feed the Bulls fans’ hunger, seeing him stable and doing what he does best. Especially. In February, Rose was ruled out indefinitely for what reason?Nobody knows why, but one thing is for sure that it started generating talk that his career could be over. Without Rose, the Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 4-2. The Bulls would face their biggest challenge yet, Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavs, a game where Rose made one of his most well-known NBA clips of all time. Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, with 3 seconds left and the game tied at 96, Rose hit a game-winner, putting the Bulls up 2-1 in the series. Ending the game with 30/7/7. For the first time since 2012, before Rose’s ACL tear, NBA fans and Bulls fans alike thought that “old Derrick” was back.

In 2015-16, despite playing a full season for the first time in four years, Rose and Chicago hit a wall. Rose was engulfed in a sexual assault, charges that he was later acquitted of, but still carried over from the preseason. The Bulls experienced internal turmoil, which ended in the Bulls not making it to the playoffs.

 For the 16-17 season, Rose signed with the Knicks; his season there was less than ideal. Fans saw Rose trying to get points consistently, as he was being a “ballhog” and stunting the young Porzingis’ growth at twenty eight Rose looked like a stagnant guard who couldn’t do much and had already lost his edge with basketball.

After two forgettable seasons, one with the Knicks and the Cavs, a year after Rose signed with the Timberwolves, a team that seemed destined to be top-ranked in their division with the likes of Karl Anthony Towns, Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson, Anthony Wiggins, and Jimmy Butler. Derrick was playing a six-man role that he looked more comfortable in, being able to have his “get buckets” playstyle.

But on October 31st, 2018, Rose went for 50 points, a game that I vividly remember seeing live. After the game, you can see Rose’s teammates crying, understanding how much this game meant to Rose after three leg injuries being written off so many times, Rose was able to come back to the basketball world. 

After this game Rose was still doing his thing on the wolves minus them having a underwhelming season, Rose signed with the Knicks in 2021 for the second time and didn’t do much, Rose retired September 26, 2024 and had his jersey number retired at the Bulls arena and had a ceremony where announcers, teammates, and fans alike came together to show how much Rose impacted everyone in Chicago. 

Derrick Rose will be remembered for a long time not only in Chicago but all over the basketball world as a whole, for his high-flying athletic play style and making it from South Side Chicago to going and playing under coach Cal, to being the first pick in the 2008 draft. To this day, people still talk about what Rose could have been if it weren’t for his injuries.