David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has underwent plenty of scrutiny and criticism over the past year or so after taking some extra time to return to the court. Rose suffered a torn ACL last year in the first round of the playoffs and has yet to play an NBA game.
In a recent interview with Pedro Pinto of CNN, Rose talked about his return to the court and also shed some light on his opinion on the best in the NBA.
When asked who the toughest player to guard was, Rose responded, ”I would have to say LeBron (James). A 6-foot-8 guy that’s 250 (pounds). What do you think?”
While giving credit to the four time MVP, Rose didn’t go too far with his praise. Pinto asked Rose who he thought was the best player in the NBA in which Rose answered:
“Derrick Rose.”
His answer has caused quite the controversy among NBA fans around the world, mainly because a guy that hasn’t played in a professional game in over a year is claiming to be the best player in the entire league. It sounds crazy, right?
Wrong.
Three years ago when Rose was in another famous interview, he asked the question ”Why can’t I be the best? Why can’t I be MVP?”
Does anybody remember what happened that year? Oh, that’s right. He won the league MVP.
So, with that said, why would anybody criticize the kid whose confidence soars above the majority of his peers? He said himself that he wouldn’t come back to the court until he felt better than he did before the injury.
The guy wants to improve. He wants to win. He wants to be the best. What is there to criticize? Another one of his more famous opinions is that if he isn’t trying to be the best, what’s the point of him playing the game? He’s said that quite a few times, and my goodness what an attitude that is.
If Rose thinks he’s the best, he will play like he’s the best. I’m confident the only fans that could legitimately hate that type of attitude are those that are not from Chicago. When he returns to the court and proves his critics wrong, we will look back at this infamous interview and simply say yet again, ‘He told us so.’
Ryan Heckman is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmheckman, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
