NBA (DR)
These days, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving are among the very best point guards in the league.
But one former champion sincerely believes that they would have been forced to lay down their arms against one of their contemporaries, if his career had not been undermined by injuries.
The 2010s truly marked a turning point for playmakers.
As the game gradually moved outward, smaller athletes like Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook showed that they could be franchise bosses. The first was at the head of the Warriors dynasty, while the second was MVP in 2017 and dropped triple-double seasons on average.
We can also cite Kyrie Irving in the lot, champion in 2016 with Cleveland and who is among the most incredible offensive players of all time.
But for Norris Cole, signed with LeBron James’ Heat and who spoke on the Tidal League podcast , there is another position 1 who then dominated the competition and who could also have done so for a long time, if not had not been overcome by physical problems:
Norris Cole scarred for life by the madness of Derrick Rose
For those who don’t know, there was Derrick Rose before Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving.
He thought he was the best player in the world and to prove it, he had to compete against No. 6 (LeBron’s jersey number during the Heat era, editor’s note).
No disrespect to him, but he wasn’t at the time.
The only reason Bron hasn’t been MVP three times in a row is because people didn’t like his departure to Miami.
When people ask me who was the player I had the most difficulty defending, I told them that D-Rose was the most difficult guy to defend.
Your favorite point guards today wouldn’t have stood a chance against Derrick Rose.
No disrespect to them, but Ky and Steph, they didn’t stand a chance against him.
The guys were afraid to play against him, they pretended to be sick.
Now a replacement for the Grizzlies, the former Bulls player is getting closer to retirement after a career marked by “what if?” “.
Who knows how the NBA would have evolved if he hadn’t seriously injured his knee during the 2012 playoffs against the Sixers.
Because before that, no leader came close to Pooh, the youngest MVP in history a year earlier.
Even today, his highlights make supporters shiver.
🌹 𝗜𝗹 𝗲́𝘁𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗶𝘀… Derrick Rose chez les Bulls.
Le 𝗠𝗩𝗣 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟭 fête (déjà) ses… 𝟯𝟱 𝗮𝗻𝘀.
Aujourd’hui encore, il nous est juste 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 de ne pas nous demander ce qu’aurait donné sa carrière sans ses blessures. ❤️🩹pic.twitter.com/tkjrWwtwoc
— Basket USA 🏀 (@basketusa) October 4, 2023
Norris Cole still remembers his clashes with Derrick Rose very well and for him, there is not the slightest doubt: the leader could have walked on the competition today, even against big names like Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving who were not yet at his level during his best years. We’ll never know…
