Each NBA team’s most devastating injury in franchise history

Most devastating injury in Chicago Bulls history: Derrick Rose

You could argue that one Derrick Rose-led Chicago Bulls championship would have meant as much to that fanbase as all six of the Michael Jordan-era titles in the 1990s. After all, Rose wasn’t just a No. 1 overall pick that blossomed into a superstar, he was one of their own.

Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Rose made his name as a standout a Simeon Career Academy where he led the Wolverines to back-to-back IHSA Class AA state championships in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

He parlayed that success to a scholarship at the University of Memphis, where he led John Calipari’s Tigers to the NCAA Championship Game in his lone season at the school.

The Bulls took him with the top pick a few months later. After a few seasons of decent production, Rose broke through in the 2010-11 season. He averaged 25.0 points and 7.7 assists for a Bulls team that won 62 games, the most since Jordan’s second retirement. His efforts netted him the league MVP award, making him the youngest player to achieve that feat.

Yes, that Bulls team hit a 6-foot-8, 250-pound wall in the shape of LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals, but given Rose’s age, Bulls fans had plenty of reasons to remain optimistic.

When the Bulls finished 50-16 in the strike-shortened 2011-12 season, it served as another indicator that the good times would continue for years to come. Then, towards the end of Chicago’s first opening-round game against the Philadelphia 76ers, this made every Bulls fan’s (including yours truly) heart stop:

That ACL tear combined with subsequent nicks to his legs robbed Rose of that lightning-fast burst. Since he was never a refined shooter, it robbed him of his superstardom.

A few years later, his production took a nosedive while his public image also took a hit after rape allegations came to light. Rose would bounce around after a couple more ho-hum seasons with the Bulls, making stops with the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers before settling with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Bulls are still recovering from the injury. They remained a playoff team for a while, but eventually, poor front office execution became the organization’s undoing, as the Bulls are now tanking in hopes of “earning” the rights to draft Zion Williamson out of Duke University.