Derrick Rose Issues Strong Statement on Injury-Riddled Career

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 6:51 PM ET

Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history during the 2010-11 season. He led the Chicago Bulls to the top record in the league and appeared primed to dominate the NBA for the next decade.

However, Rose tore his left ACL in Game 1 of the 2012 playoffs and missed the entire 2012-13 season.

Rose played in 10 games in 2013-14 before tearing his right meniscus and undergoing season-ending surgery. The Chicago native tore his right meniscus again in 2014-15 and tore his left meniscus in 2016-17.

Rose played for the Bulls, New York Knicks (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies during his career. He recently told Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype that he used to ask God why he kept getting injured.

However, Rose stopped asking God because he knew he had to "roll with the punches."

“I never asked the doctor why my injuries were happening,” Rose said. “They’re just giving me a reason. But I asked God that numerous times. After a while, I stopped asking. I knew I had to roll with the punches. And that’s part of being from Chicago. Like, hey, if I can make it out of here, I can make it anywhere. And I made it out, and God placed me back there, like in Chicago.

“So I’m like, man, I’m here. And I’ve got to live with some type of purpose. What’s going to be my purpose? And the older I get, I’m starting to see that my purpose is to show people that you can get through it.”

Rose appeared in 723 NBA games. He averaged 17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks.

The 36-year-old Rose was the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft out of Memphis. He won the 2009 Rookie of the Year Award and made three All-Star teams and one All-NBA team.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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