Derrick Rose: The biggest 'what if' in NBA history

Derrick Rose is a professional basketball player who was the youngest MVP in NBA history, playing for his hometown Chicago Bulls in 2011.

He became the NBA's best player in his early 20s, but due to his constant injuries and surgeries, no one will ever know how good he was going to be.

Let's look through his journey from NBA superstar to injury heartache and becoming a role player.

After playing one year with the Memphis Tigers at college, Derrick Rose was drafted first by his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls, in the 2008 NBA draft.

He settled into life as an NBA player quicker than most draftees, scoring ten or more points in his first ten games, becoming the first Bulls draft player to do so since Michael Jordan.

Rose finished his rookie year with a scoring average of 16.8 points, winning the Rookie of the Year. His second season was even more impressive, averaging 26.8 points and 7.2 assists, earning himself his first all-star selection in 2010.

Rose's rise to stardom had been as quick as LeBron James's when he entered the NBA. At 22 years old, Rose became the third player to record 2000 points and 600 assists in a single season, earning him the 2010-11 NBA MVP award, becoming the youngest player to win it.

Rose was the first Bulls player to win the MVP since Michael Jordan, and his dominance on the court was in a way that resembled the GOAT. He took his Bulls team to the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to LeBron James and the Miami Heat. He averaged 27 points in the playoffs.

After his record-breaking season in 2011, the basketball world knew of the basketball talent Rose possessed. In 2011-12 he was voted an all-star and helped the Bulls qualify for the playoffs.

In game one of the 2012 NBA playoffs, Rose tore his ACL, ending his playoff campaign and ruling him out for the 2012-2013 season, giving himself time to rehab.

Rose returned for the 2013-2014 season, scoring 12 points and four assists in his first game back for the Bulls. However, shortly into the start of the season, Rose tore his meniscus in his right knee, requiring surgery and missing the remainder of the season.

Between 2014 and 2016, he showed glimpses of his old self, returning from another tear in his meniscus in 2015 to help Chicago make it to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

In his final season with the Bulls, Rose failed to help them make the playoffs, resulting in him being traded to the New York Knicks in 2016.

His spell with the Knicks didn't work out, tearing the meniscus in his left knee in his first season in New York, requiring his fourth surgery in nine seasons.

After bouncing from team to team, Rose joined the Timberwolves in 2018 for the end of the 2017-2018 season, reuniting with former teammates Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson.

The former MVP took the 2018-2019 season by vengeance, scoring 20 or more in 24 games. Despite that, the NBA moment of the season was Rose's performance against the Utah Jazz, scoring a career-high 50 points. At the final buzzer, Rose couldn't hold back his emotions.

After being ruled out for the rest of the 18-19 season due to elbow trouble, Rose signed with the Detroit Pistons in July 2019, logging 18 points and nine assists on his Pistons debut.

Rose became the first Pistons player in history to score 20 or more points in seven consecutive games as a reserve player before a groin injury ended the run.

In February 2021, Rose returned to the Knicks under former coach Tom Thibodeau, helping the Knicks to a fourth-place finish in the East, finishing third in the Sixth Man of the Year voting. In game three of the first round against the Atlanta Hawks, Rose scored 30 points and six rebounds.

In August 2021, Rose signed a three-year deal with the Knicks, but since then, he's undergone surgery on his right ankle and a procedure to remove a skin infection from his ankle.

Rose now has a limited role on the Knicks roster, averaging 12.5 minutes a game and 5.6 points per game.