Derrick Rose's ACL injury has become one of the biggest “what-ifs” in NBA history. The Chicago Bulls superstar, MVP in hand, was never the same afterwards.
His longtime Bulls teammate Joakim Noah recently appeared on the Knuckleheads podcast with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles. The former All-Star detailed the exact moment Derrick Rose's career changed for good, through his own eyes.
Transcription via Reddit:
“It was definitely tough because – you look back at that time – we were the No. 1 team in the NBA. We had the best record, playoffs start, Game 1, we are on a mission. We just lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to Miami. We got Rip now, and we’re like this is the year. This is the year we’re getting shit. Then, he tore his ACL, and I think everyone kind of remembers where they were, what they were doing when that sh*t happens.
The injury was the death knell to the Chicago Bulls' status as contenders, not just for that season, but in the years to come. Perhaps LeBron James and the Miami Heat would have succumbed to a deep Bulls team that season, or the one after that. Maybe Chicago garners their first championship banner post-Michael Jordan in the years to come.
More than likely, Derrick Rose would be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer at this point in his career had the injury not happened. All these things changed in the blink of an eye, and Noah admitted he didn't think it would be anything of that magnitude in the moment.
“One of those moments when I heard he tore his ACL – I didn’t even think much of it when it happened. I thought, ‘okay, he’ll miss a couple of games and he’ll be back.’ But, it was depressing as hell.”
Derrick Rose has since turned his career around, becoming a legit playoff performer with a revamped style of play. The Chicago Bulls one will forever be a what-if, but Rose didn't let that moment define him.
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