Derrick Rose admits his ‘vintage’ MVP self is no more
At the age of just 28, many have speculated that New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose’s best days on the court are behind him.
It doesn’t sound like he necessarily disagrees.
Rose said after Tuesday’s 107-103 victory win over Portland that he accepts that the player who lit up the league and won an MVP at age 22 probably isn’t coming back thanks to a series of injuries.
“That vintage is gone, man,” Rose said Tuesday, via Ian Begley of ESPN. “I told you the question should be: Can I hoop? It shouldn’t be like, ‘He’s playing like his old self. Like, if I can hoop, I can hoop. No matter if I did that when I was younger or now, I can play the game of basketball.”
Rose is right. A series of knee injuries have likely ensured that the Rose of six years ago is a thing of the past. He deserves full credit for admitting and accepting that. He’s also right that it doesn’t mean he’s not a good basketball player, and he’d be the first to admit that for various reasons, we probably haven’t yet seen the best of what he does have to offer the Knicks.
