Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five celebrates Derrick Rose by recalling five of his best plays.

As we discussed earlier this week in Episode #548 of the NLSC Podcast, Derrick Rose has called it a career after 15 seasons in the NBA. D-Rose is – as I’m sure many of you are aware – one of my all-time favourite players, right up there with fellow Chicago Bulls alumni Michael Jordan and Ben Gordon. To that end, I’m sorry to see him retire, especially without more fanfare and indeed a farewell tour back with the Bulls. After all of his injuries and with family life ahead of him however, one has to respect him for being at peace with his career, and his decision to walk away.

Obviously, there are some wistful What Ifs when it comes to Derrick Rose. If not for that devastating knee injury in the 2012 Playoffs, I’m sure he would’ve been one of the top stars of the 2010s. Who knows what the Bulls might’ve achieved had he remained healthy, and if they’d acquired some more firepower to support him? While it does sting to think about, I’m also grateful that I was able to see him become an All-Star and MVP, and truly get excited about the Bulls’ chances again as I did in 2011. He was a really fun player to watch – and play with in video games, too – so in honour of his retirement and his 36th birthday, here are five of my favourite Derrick Rose plays!

1. The Dunk on Goran Dragic

I don’t expect that any of my picks will be a huge surprise, so let’s get an extremely obvious one out of the way first! Early on in their careers, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook were in competition for throwing down some of the nastiest dunks in the NBA; not just by a point guard, but by anyone in the league! To that point, one of the most vicious slams that D-Rose broke out came at the expense of Goran Dragic. In the fourth quarter of a close game against the Phoenix Suns, Rose took the lead pass out on the break, accelerated towards the rim, took off, cocked the ball behind his head with both hands, and then dunked on Dragic, absorbing the contact for the and-one.

There are many things that not only make this one of my favourite Derrick Rose plays, but in my opinion, one of the best dunks of all-time. There’s the explosiveness of Rose, both running the floor and soaring to the rim for the emphatic stuff. There’s Stacey King practically jumping out of his seat on commentary, making the moment with his cries of “Stop it! Stop it!” and “What are you doing Dragic? Did you not get the memo?!?” There’s Dragic himself having the hustle and grit to challenge Rose at the rim and attempt the block. Wide open dunks like D-Rose’s double-pump reverse against the Knicks are fun, but tough finishes in defenders’ faces are on another level.

2. Breaking Andre Miller’s Ankles

Being one of the fastest players in the league pre-injury, and with some expert handles to boot, Derrick Rose certainly broke a few ankles during his career. You could make a whole reel of those highlights – and I’m sure you can find one in a matter of seconds on YouTube – but the one that stands out in my memory is when he sent Andre Miller to the hardwood. After waiting at halfcourt for the lane to open, Rose sizes up Miller, goes right with a head of steam, then in a flash crosses over to his left hand to blow by Andre, whose legs buckle underneath him as he tries to react. Of course, a great ankle breaker doesn’t mean much without a bucket, and fortunately Rose got the two points.

The only way the play could’ve been better is if we saw Rose’s layup fall through the net, but unfortunately Samuel Dalembert goaltended the shot. Sure, it still counts, and makes the move successful, but it’s not quite the same as seeing it go in! On one hand, it makes me want to boo Dalembert for the pettiness of coming in to swat it away so late and thus marring a spectacular highlight, but on the other hand, I do admire the defensive instincts and competitive spirit of wanting to block every shot. The Bulls did go on to win that game with rookie Rose finishing with 18 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, and a slick move that put the league on notice that he was a special talent.

3. Banking in the Game-Winning Three

Although most of Rose’s best plays came before his ACL injury in 2012, there were still bright moments even after he missed the entire 2013 season, and subsequently went down with a torn meniscus in his other knee ten games into the 2014 campaign. He played 51 regular season games in 2015 and still battled knee problems, but was able to return for the Playoffs. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t quite the same player he’d once been, but he still performed quite well in the postseason. While he never became a sharpshooter, Rose did display more confidence shooting the ball in lieu of driving as much as he had prior to his knee injuries, and began using an effective bank shot.

These efforts to develop his jumpshot and make better use of the glass culminated with an incredible clutch three in Game 3 of the Bulls’ second round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. With LeBron James bringing his talents back from South Beach, the Cavs were heavy favourites to supplant the Miami Heat as Eastern Conference Champions, but split the first two games with Chicago. With Game 3 tied at 96 apiece and just three seconds left on the clock, Rose caught the inbounds pass from Mike Dunleavy Jr., dribbled to the right wing, and pulled up for a three-pointer that banked in for the win. Cleveland would take the series, but it was a huge moment for Rose.

4. Beating the Lakers on Christmas Day

That dagger in the 2015 Playoffs wasn’t Derrick Rose’s first NBA gamewinner, and for that matter, neither was his shot against the Lakers on Christmas Day 2011. It is one of my favourite D-Rose plays, however. Not only was it a great play against a still very good Lakers squad led by an all-time great clutch player in Kobe Bryant, but the events of the prior months made it even more special. Rose was blocked by LeBron on a potential game-tying three in Game 5 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, ending their run. The league then entered a lockout that threatened the 2012 season before an agreement was reached, and a 66-game campaign tipped off on Christmas.

It was a fantastic Christmas present – especially for those of us who had already weathered the lockout of 1998-99 – and the NBA delivered with five marquee games including a Finals rematch, and a showdown between reigning MVP Rose and five-time champion Bryant. With twenty seconds left in the game, the hometown Lakers were up 87-86, and had the ball. Metta World Peace inbounded to Kobe, whose pass to Pau Gasol was broken up by Luol Deng. The ball was in Rose’s hands with about eleven seconds left, and after sizing up Derek Fisher, he tossed in a floater over Gasol to put the Bulls up by one. Some great defense then sealed the victory for Chicago.

5. Soaring Above the Pistons

I’ll admit that I was sorely tempted to pick Rose’s poster on NLSC Forum favourite Joel Anthony, but that’ll have to remain an honourable mention, as I just can’t go past this alley-oop against the Pistons. Traditionally, point guards are the ones throwing lobs to their teammates at the rim, and Derrick Rose was undoubtedly capable of that. He was just as adept at catching lobs and finishing them though, as illustrated by this aerial feat from his MVP season. Once again, Deng gets things going with a stop, and then Rose and Ronnie Brewer are off to the races, with Brewer putting it on a wire for Rose to soar in and cap off the fast break with a thunderous one-handed throwdown.

Two-way plays are always exciting, though D-Rose’s style, power, and elevation are ultimately what instantly made this alley-oop one of my all-time favourite highlights. I must also once again give credit to Stacey King for injecting even more excitement into the play with his commentary, as I can’t think of it without hearing his “I wanna go higher!” I’ve said it before, but my basketball nostalgia extends far beyond the 90s, thanks in no small part to Derrick Rose’s ascent to stardom with spectacular plays such as this one. I wish we got to see more of them, and that the Bulls could’ve stayed contenders for longer, but I’m nevertheless grateful for Rose’s time in the Windy City.

What are some of your favourite Derrick Rose plays and memories? Do any of the ones that I spotlighted rank among your favourites? Have your say in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.

The post The Friday Five: 5 Favourite Derrick Rose Plays appeared first on NLSC.