Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, the 2011 NBA MVP, is ready to return to action. He also has not lost his swagger despite missing more than a year with a torn ACL.
In an interview with CNN Derrick Rose was being asked a series of rapid fire questions, one of which was "Who is the best player in the NBA?" He answered, "Derrick Rose," which made the interviewer chuckle. Rose was not laughing however, and when prompted by the interviewer who said "Really?" Rose simply said "Yeah."
While LeBron James seems to have a stranglehold on that title, Rose was making a healthy case for himself before his ACL tear. During his 2010-2011 MVP campaign, Rose led the Bulls with 25 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. The following season he averaged 21.8 points a night, slightly raised his assist totals to 7.9, and still notched 3.9 rebounds.
Rose did acknowledge James' greatness, however, calling the Miami Heat four-time MVP the toughest player in the league to guard.
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, who led the Bulls to the second round of the Eastern Conference semifinals despite not having Rose for the entire year, said his star is progressing well.
"His overall strength is terrific," Thibodeau said. "He's put a lot of work into his body. I know he's anxious to get out there and play. He's played some pickup but not a lot, but he feels great, and that's the most important thing.
"We'll see once we get to training camp, and we're going to have an opportunity to get some work done in the fall, but we have to keep in mind he's been out an extended amount of time," Thibodeau said. "So the preseason -- and we look at training camp as the entire month, not just a week -- we'll move him along accordingly. We'll see what he can handle. I think there's going to be some rust initially, but I fully expect him to get back to [being] the player we all know that he is."
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