Point Guard of the decade: Derrick Rose
The Bulls were coming off a 2007-08 campaign that saw them win just 33 games. Although the odds were stacked against them moving up to the No. 1 pick, that is exactly what happened. With that pick, the Bulls selected Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis.
The first thing that fans often think about when Rose’s name comes up is the multiple season-ending injuries that permanently altered the trajectory of his career. But before those knee injuries came into the equation, Rose was one of the most dynamic players in the league at the point guard position.
During his inaugural season, Rose went on to win the Rookie of the Year award on averages of 16.8 points and 6.3 assists per contest. He scored 36 points in his playoff debut in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, which tied him with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points scored in a postseason debut in NBA history.
The Bulls eventually fell to the Celtics in seven games, but Rose had served notice that he was on his way to becoming one of the league’s brightest stars.
Two seasons later, Rose averaged 25.0 points and 7.7 assists per contest en route to becoming the younger player in NBA history to win the Most Valuable Player award. When Rose was healthy, he got to the rim at break-neck speed and finished in ways that could not be easily replicated.
During his seven seasons in Chicago, Rose averaged 19.7 points and 6.2 assists per contest, which doesn’t tell the entire story of what he meant to a fan base that was hoping he would help deliver the city’s first title since the days of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. It’s just a shame that there will be a lot of “what ifs” when looking back on his tenure with the Bulls.