Minnesota Timberwolves guard Derrick Rose was emotional when asked of his second place standing among Western Conference guards after the first return of All-Star ballots was released by the NBA.

“It’s touching,” said Rose, according to Dane Moore of ESPN 1500. “It’s show love trumps hate. Every day.”

Rose was second to Stephen Curry in votes, racking up 698,086 votes, more than MVP candidate James Harden of the Houston Rockets and triple-double machine Russell Westbrook — both popular choices in recent voting.

The Timberwolves guard admitted he still has a planned seven-day trip to Malibu, and he isn't canceling quite yet until his place is cemented by the vote of fans, players and the media.

Rose has had his best season since his fall from grace after a multitude of injuries through the middle of his career, peaking early as the NBA's youngest MVP and struggling to regain his once-cherished form with multiple nagging setbacks.

The 30-year-old is averaging his most points (18.9 per game) since the 2011-12 season, one in which he played a mere 39 games before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in Game 1 of the playoffs.

Rose is also shooting the ball from deep at a career-high clip, connecting on 46.2 percent of his attempts after being a somewhat reluctant 3-point shooter in the last few years of his career.

The Chicago native is also in the running for Sixth Man of the Year and perhaps even Most Improved Player, but voters may hesitate on the latter given he did once win an MVP.