Derrick Rose, who led his hometown Bulls to the playoffs and restored hope to a franchise in disarray, is the NBA’s rookie of the year. The announcement was made Wednesday.
Rose is the third Bulls player to win the award, joining Michael Jordan and Elton Brand. His selection was hardly a surprise, after the No. 1 overall draft pick led all rookies with 6.3 assists per game and was second in scoring average at 16.8, and established himself as the franchise’s first true cornerstone since Jordan. “I think there are very few people in the NBA who could do what he did this year,” teammate Joakim Noah said. “You tell me another No. 1 pick who got to the playoffs in their hometown, especially in a big city with so many distractions and so many things going on. He’s all about one thing and that’s winning games.”Rose earned 114 of a possible 120 first-place votes and finished with 574 points, easily outdistancing runner-up O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies. New Jersey Nets centre Brook Lopez finished third.