Derrick Rose still holds the record for being the youngest-ever NBA player to win the regular-season MVP award. Unfortunately, after suffering severe injuries, his once-promising career became more of a standard role-player's career.
Despite peaking early in his career, Derrick is still one of the most respected players by his peers. As a rival in college and the NBA, Mario Chalmers always knew how good Rose was in his athletic prime, as he recently gave him his flowers.
"D-Rose was special, that's one of the players, I wanted to see him without injuries. Just to see how his career would've went and what kind of player he would've developed into," Chalmers said on Vernon Maxwell's MaXed Out podcast. "The man got an MVP with a healthy LeBron and a healthy Kobe out there… That man was special, you always got take your hand out to him, he always has my respect."
Chalmers and Rose are familiar with each other
Most people might know Chalmers and Rose played against each other with the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls. However, their rivalry started earlier, as they played against each other in the 2008 National Championship Game between Kansas and Memphis.
The game had a legendary ending when it was tied at 63 points apiece, opening the door for the Jayhawks to get a last-second win. It was Rio who took the big shot, hitting a phenomenal three-pointer to win the championship for Kansas.
Unfortunately for Rose, that was only the beginning of losing to Chalmers because Mario got drafted by the Heat, a team that would eventually sign LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The Miami-based team became the titans of the Eastern Conference, winning two titles in 2012 and 2013, surpassing Derrick's Bulls, who could not beat the Heat.
Chalmers even jokingly said that Pat Riley built the team around him when he asked Riley to sign LeBron in the 2010 offseason.
"I was the only person signed on the Heat. There was nobody else on there. So, they built a team around me that summer. I told Pat, 'I need Bron. I need UD. I need D-Wade,'" Chalmers said on The OGs Show with former Heat players Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller.
Rose never reached his true potential
While he won the 2011 regular season MVP, D-Rose had an underwhelming career when considering his potential. He was the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft but could not lead the Bulls to a championship. They made it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011, but that Bulls squad couldn't beat Miami's Big 3.
It is a disappointing result for such a promising player for the first few seasons, but he still deserves his flowers. He was one of the most talented players during the early 2010s, and beating LeBron and Kobe for an MVP award proves just how special Rose was.
Related: "None of them dudes wanted no smoke with Derrick Rose" - Rip Hamilton says superstars were scared of a prime Derrick Rose
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