Does Derrick Rose belong in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame?
By Joe Lago
Every NBA Most Valuable Player award winner eligible for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has been inducted. The streak will remain intact when LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, James Harden and Russell Westbrook retire in the coming years.
At some point, Derrick Rose should join them in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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On Thursday, Rose announced his retirement from basketball after spending 16 years in the NBA. To say goodbye, the 35-year-old point guard took out full-page newspaper advertisements in the cities of the six teams he played for: Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies.
Rose's biggest impact was in Chicago, where his presence was felt immediately. The 2008 No. 1 overall pick burst onto the scene like a supernova in a city starved for its next franchise star a decade after the Bulls' last championship with Michael Jordan, and his arrival sparked a streak of seven consecutive playoff appearances, starting with his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2008-09.
With the fearless explosiveness of Allen Iverson and the uncanny court awareness of Jason Kidd, Rose lifted the Bulls to NBA title contender status in 2010-11, when he led them to a league-best 62-20 record and a trip to the East finals, where they fell to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games.
Rose's magnificent season, in which he averaged 7.7 assists and what would be career bests of 25.0 points and 4.1 rebounds, was rewarded with the league's MVP award at just 22 years old. However, it ended up being the pinnacle for him.
In the 2012 playoffs, Rose tore his left ACL and would miss the entire 2012-13 season. He played three more seasons in Chicago, but the knee injury sapped his quickness and prevented his ascent into permanent NBA superstardom.
Luckily for Rose, the Basketball Hall of Fame takes into account of a candidate's complete body of work as an amateur and a pro. So his one All-American season with Memphis, which he led to the NCAA Tournament's Final Four and championship game, certainly boosts his resume.
International play is included as well. Rose's two gold medals with Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in 2010 and 2014 further helps his Hall of Fame case.
Rose, by no means, is a lock for Springfield. His 3,770 assists rank only 147th on the NBA's all-time list. His 12,573 points place him at No. 248 among the league's all-time top scorers, behind Nick Van Exel (12,658) and ahead of Goran Dragic (12,568).
Basketball-Reference's Hall of Fame probability rankings aren't kind to Rose, who is listed with a 10.52% chance. That's over two percentage points lower than Donovan Mitchell (12.85%).
Rose has to hope for an HOF election push similar to another former Rookie of the Year who had his career arc adversely affected by injury — Grant Hill. However, Rose will need an even bigger campaign effort to get him into the Hall. It'll require some work on Rose's part, too.
Rose shied from the media spotlight early in his career, but if he truly wants to join LeBron, KD and Steph in the Hall of Fame, he'll have to embrace the powers of social media and advocate for himself. Because anyone who saw Rose during his first three seasons in Chicago knew they were witnessing greatness. And the question wasn't if he could reach the Hall of Fame. It was just a matter of when.
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