[Editor's note: This article is from The Spun's "Then and Now" magazine, featuring interviews with more than 50 sports stars of yesteryear. Order your copy online today, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]
Derrick Rose is the youngest MVP in NBA history.
The 2010-11 MVP won the award in just his third season in the league, leading the Chicago Bulls to the Eastern Conference finals after averaging 25 points and 7.7 assists per game. Not bad for the 22-year-old kid from Chicago, who at just 19 was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft after taking Memphis to the NCAA title game as a freshman.
"I never lacked confidence," Rose said about entering the NBA. "It was a part of my game. By the time you get to the NBA, of course you're looking at players, ‘Damn, they're older.' But I wasn't scared - I looked at them like they were anyone else, like my peers, but I wasn't scared at all to play against them."
The Rookie of the Year led the Bulls to an epic seven-game showdown in the first round of the 2009 playoffs against the defending champion Boston Celtics. In Game 1, Rose had a game-high 36 points, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for most points in a playoff debut. The Bulls won that first game but would lose the series 4 games to 3.
Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose dribbles the ball past Washington Wizards point guard Mustafa Shakur in Washington on Feb. 28, 2011. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
While Rose was always a dynamic threat when driving to the hoop, he lacked a viable jump shot. He made it his mission to master it before his MVP season.
"I knew after playing two years in the league that I had to adjust, and the only thing that I was missing was my jump shot," said Rose. "That's just like every other player that comes to the league, even shooters. Once they come into the league, they have to adjust to the line. I put myself in a position where I was able to handle the speed of the game. I was able to be a general with time management, but my jump shot was the last thing."
His commitment, coupled with the guidance from then-Bulls assistant coach Ron Adams and the demands of first-time coach Tom Thibodeau, paved the way for Rose's historic MVP season.
"I knew that summer that if I worked on my jump shot, it could change the whole dynamic of the team," said Rose. "That's where the confidence came from, and that's where the year came from, me actually putting in the work. At that time, I was shooting 34 to 35% from the three-point line and that opened up the floor for me to be able to run around.
"(Thibodeau) put a lot of pressure on me and that's why I love him because I never wanted him to see me crack. He knew how good I was, and I wanted the challenge. He used to challenge me in certain games with certain point guards or certain matchups. I took on that challenge."
While Rose emerged as one of the best players in the NBA, injuries would soon alter the course of his career, starting with a torn ACL during the 2012 playoffs, shortly after signing a five-year, $94.8 million contract extension with the Bulls.
Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose drives to the basket as Boston Celtics center Jermaine O'Neal (7) defends and guard Rajon Rondo (9) watches at the United Center on Jan. 8, 2011. Mike DiNovo-Imagn Images
He missed the 2012-13 season, returned for the next, which abruptly ended after just 10 games when he tore his meniscus. He was able to bounce back to end his tenure in Chicago on a strong note, averaging 17.8 points in his final two seasons with the Bulls before being traded to the Knicks in 2016.
He'd go on to play 15 seasons - with much of the latter half of his career primarily as a role player for the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Pistons, Knicks (reunited with Thibodeau from 2021-2023) and Grizzlies - before retiring after the 2023-24 season.
As his NBA career was winding down, Rose became an avid chess player and is using it to help inner-city kids.
"We're trying to create something new, create a vibration, and hopefully get kids to actually critically think and understand that it's a bigger picture, bigger than just that moment," Rose said. "And where I'm from (Chicago's South Side), that moment could be a kid squeezing a trigger to a gun.
"So, think about the effects afterward. You're losing your family. You're losing your life. But our kids now, they're not thinking that far along down the line. I feel like with chess, it puts you in a mindset to freely think that way, all the time because of just picking up a game (instead of a gun)."
Jerry Bonkowski contributed to this story.
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