SUMMARY
- Norris Cole claims that a prime Derrick Rose was unstoppable.
- The former NBA player opines that D-Rose was better than Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving.
A former NBA star appeared on a podcast and made a bold statement by opining that Derrick Rose was a significantly better player when compared to Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving. As some NBA fans might be aware, Rose is a veteran point guard currently playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Although he is a shadow of the player that he used to be at this point in his career, Norris Cole claimed that a prime Derrick Rose should have been considered the best point guard of the modern NBA and could have surpassed the likes of Curry and Irving if he had remained healthy. That said, one must want to take a closer look at these statements and find out the truth behind them.
How many times has D-Rose faced off against Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving?
While the younger and newer NBA fans might not know much about Derrick Rose and his abilities on the basketball court, the veteran members of the basketball community are unlikely to ever forget. Rose was best known for his time with the Chicago Bulls and could rival a prime Russell Westbrook at the start of his NBA career. Unfortunately, he sustained a serious ACL injury and never returned to being the player that fans remember.
“D-Rose was like I said, when people asked me who was the hardest guy I ever had to guard, I tell them D-Rose was the toughest guy. Your favorite point guards of today had no chance against him. No offense but like Kai and Steph and them no chance against that guy…Man people was getting D-Rose flu.”
“D-Rose was the toughest guy [I had to guard]. Your favorite point guards of today had no chance against Derrick Rose. No offense but [Kyrie Irving], Steph [Curry] and them [had] no chance against that guy.”
– Norris Cole
(via “Run Your Race”, @TidalLeague) pic.twitter.com/87sjnwPa5S
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 13, 2024
Claiming that other stars were scared to go up against Rose is quite a bold statment. In all fairness, neither Steph nor Kyrie ever backed down from facing the NBA star. Steph played against Derrick 17 times and Kyrie faced off against Rose 15 times. However, questions as to how good D-Rose was continues to be a subject of discussion among NBA fans.
How good was Prime Derrick Rose?
Fans who have watched Derrick Rose’s highlights during his time with the Chicago Bulls will know that he was one of the fastest and most athletic point guards in NBA history. In fact, D-Rose managed to win the MVP award when he was just 22 years old, becoming the youngest-ever NBA star to accomplish this feat.