The Chicago Bulls are on a roll so far, at least in terms of awards. Coach Tom Thibodeau won NBA Coach of the Year, and now Derrick Rose is getting MVP honors. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Bulls will have a conference at 4 p.m. CDT today to announce the award.
Rose himself will be officially notified at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort today, although the actual presentation will be before Game 2 of the Bulls’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
Rose, only 22 years of age, is the youngest player to ever win the award. Also, as the Chicago Tribune notes, Rose will be the first MVP recipient since 1973’s Dave Cowens to win without garnering one vote the year before.
As ESPNChicago recalls, Rose asked at the beginning of the season, “Why can’t I be the MVP of the league?” At that point, a million reasons. But today? The Bulls might be down 0-1 in the semifinals, but they got there with the best record in the league thanks to Derrick Rose.
Rose averaged 25 points and 7.7 assists in starting all but one game for the 62-20 Bulls. Drafted with the No. 1 overall pick out of Memphis in the 2008 draft, Rose has risen to become one of the premier guards in the league.
The Tribune quotes Bulls coach Thibodeau as saying: “The talent part is obvious ... Everyone can see that. But unless you’re around him every day, you don’t see his drive and humility and the way he is with his teammates, the example he sets. He’s never satisfied. He always wants to do better. He always puts the team first. And he'll always do what you ask him to do.”
Unfortunately, winning MVP apparently doesn’t do much to help your chances winning the championship. The last time the MVP was on the winning team was in the 2002-2003 season, when Tim Duncan got the award and the Spurs took home the trophy. But for the time being, let’s hope the Bulls ignore that fact. Maybe this award will inject a bit more swagger in the team and help them out of their 0-1 hole.
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