Once an MVP and one of the most dynamic point guards in the game, injuries robbed Derrick Rose of what was shaping to be a promising career. He turned back the clock on Wednesday night, scoring a career-high 50 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a win.
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Rose was emotional on the court and in the locker room as he was mobbed by teammates. His performance captivated current and former players throughout the league, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
“What Derrick Rose did tonight, what he gives with his mind and body, just to play one game, is something that I watched being a teammate when we were in Cleveland together. You talk about perseverance, that’s the true definition of it,” James said after the Lakers’ one-point victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
“You talk about a guy who I think is the youngest MVP to ever play in this game. To have the battles and battles with his injuries, to be able to come back and no matter what everybody else was talking about — the majority is always people who never stepped into the arena — had so many things to say bad about him. And what he should do; he should do this or do that. For him to set a career high tonight, in a win in Minnesota, I think that’s unbelievable.
“I think every kid, you don’t even have to play sports, any kid going through anything in life with adversity, triumph, trying to get over the hump, you can look at that performance by Derrick Rose. That’s why our game is so unbelievable. Even when a superhero is knocked down, he’s still a superhero at the end of the day. Derrick Rose showed why he’s still a superhero.”
After being selected by the Chicago Bulls No. 1 overall in the 2008 NBA Draft, Rose’s time with the franchise came to an unceremonious end. He spent one season with the New York Knicks before signing on to play with James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017.
However, he took a leave of absence and was eventually traded to the Utah Jazz and released. While a down time in his career, it paved the way for Rose to reunite with Tom Thibodeau.