Derrick Rose: Top 5 Moments With The Chicago Bulls
The Derrick Rose era is officially over in the Windy City. Here is a look back at some of his memorable moments during his time with the Chicago Bulls.
Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls began their partnership back in 2008, when the team selected him as the top overall pick in the draft. In the beginning, Rose was everything the Bulls had hoped for.
He won Rookie of the Year in his inaugural season, as he averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds per contest. Two seasons later, Rose’s numbers improved to 25.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per outing on .445/.332/.838 shooting splits.
Along with that, Rose became the youngest player to win the MVP award and was named to the All-Star team three times.
On the heels of his MVP campaign, the Bulls returned to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since their last title run in 1998. Although they fell to the Miami Heat in five games, it appeared that Rose and the Bulls were on the cusp of something special.
Unfortunately, the euphoria from their run to the conference finals was short-lived.
The following season proved to be the beginning of the end as the saying goes, with Rose missing 27 games due to an assortment of injuries. But despite the absence of the team’s best player, the Bulls won 18 of those regular season games.
At the end of the 2011-12 season, the Bulls secured the top spot in the East for the second straight year and they were eyeing another postseason showdown with the Heat.
Then it happened.
Rose tore the ACL in his left knee in Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. With that injury, any hopes the Bulls had of winning a championship went out the window.
Over the course of the next few seasons, Rose never recaptured the form that catapulted him to MVP status, as he went on to miss 201 out of a possible 328 games. In other words, he sat out nearly 61 percent of Chicago’s games since his initial injury four years ago.
That being said, one could make the argument that his best days are now behind him. The Bulls must have felt the same way, because they traded the former MVP, Justin Holiday and a 2017 second round pick to the New York Knicks last week in exchange for Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon, thus bringing the Rose era in Chicago to a disappointing end.
To commemorate and/or mourn the occasion, here is a look back at some of Rose’s most memorable moments during his time in the Windy City.
Next: Honorable Mention