Derrick Rose is one of the biggest what-ifs in recent NBA history. Rose looked destined for greatness when he became the youngest MVP in NBA history, but a series of injuries derailed his career. During a recent interview with HoopsHype, Rose was asked if he ever posed a question to God or doctors as to why he kept getting injured.
“I never asked the doctor why my injuries were happening,” Rose said. “They’re just giving me a reason. But I asked God that numerous times. After a while, I stopped asking. I knew I had to roll with the punches. And that’s part of being from Chicago. Like, hey, if I can make it out of here, I can make it anywhere.
“And I made it out, and God placed me back there, like in Chicago,” Rose added. “So I’m like, man, I’m here. And I’ve got to live with some type of purpose. What’s going to be my purpose? And the older I get, I’m starting to see that my purpose is to show people that you can get through it.”
The Chicago Bulls selected Rose, a Chicago native, with the first pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, and it didn’t take him long to make an impact. He was named Rookie of the Year and made the All-Star team as a sophomore.
Then, in his third season in the NBA, Rose was named MVP after averaging 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in 2010-11. The Bulls had seemingly found their heir apparent to Michael Jordan, but things were about to go horribly wrong.
Rose tore the ACL in his left knee in the 2012 playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers, and he’d miss the entire 2012-13 season. He made his long-awaited return in October 2013, during preseason, but wasn’t going to be able to stay on the court for too long.
Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee in November and was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the 2013-14 season. He’d suffer the same injury again in February 2015, but was able to return in time for the playoffs.
The injury nightmare just wasn’t ending, though, and the Bulls decided to part ways in 2016. He was traded to the New York Knicks, and it would have been unthinkable just a few years earlier that the franchise would trade him of their own volition. It was clear to them, though, that he would never be the same again.
Rose would show flashes of his old self in the years that followed, as he bounced around the league. He eventually retired in 2024 with career averages of 17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game. One wonders what he could have achieved if not for the injuries.
Bulls commentator Stacy King claimed Rose’s trajectory was like Jordan’s before the injuries. That might be a bit of a stretch, but he could well have accomplished some special feats.
While Rose’s career didn’t pan out the way many expected, he deserves credit for persevering. Despite all the injuries, he still played for 15 seasons in the NBA. It would have been very easy for Rose to give up during one of the many instances where he found himself sidelined by injury, but he kept at it and inspired many in the process.
