Derrick Rose is one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ in NBA history. Despite winning the MVP award as a 22-year-old, horrific injuries stopped Rose from truly reaching his prime. But even as a youngster, he was leading the Chicago Bulls to a great record and torching teams along the way. And some players feared going up against him, at least according to his former teammate John Lucas III.
“I’ve seen people fake injuries, and it’s some of your favorite players,” Lucas said on the No Chill podcast. “When D-Rose was the MVP, when D-Rose was D-Rose, I done seen people catch the Rose flu, and we used to joke about it.”
In the 2010-11 season, Derrick Rose averaged 25 points per game and led the Chicago Bulls to the league’s best record with 62 wins. He went on to carry them to the Eastern Conference Finals, only falling to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. He was an explosive scorer at the time and could do just about everything on the offensive end, making him a nightmare matchup.
Derrick Rose’s career has fizzled out, he’s not been able to get back to being the phenom he was after his injuries. There are debates about whether he will even make it to the NBA Hall Of Fame. But while the current Derrick Rose may just be a mere shadow of his former self, there’s no doubt that players feared him at his peak.
Former Bull CJ Watson Backed Up The Claim That Players Would Duck Peak Derrick Rose
There have been players that have been feared in NBA history, the list has some incredible names on it. But Derrick Rose doesn’t get mentioned much in those conversations. Another former Bull backed up what Lucas said, though, with CJ Watson saying that the ‘Rose Flu’ was very real.
“That was actually true,” CJ Watson said. “When I signed with Chicago, I’ve never seen players run from other players or guard certain players. Like Lucas said, having a flu and supposedly sick because they don’t wanna guard D-Rose. It definitely happened, he was playing at an unbelievable clip that year.”
Having a conversation about Derrick Rose’s legacy is always complicated, but NBA history will always remember that he looked set to be an all-time great as a young superstar. The hope is that Rose can retire with a championship, which would be a sweet ending to a complex career.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
