Players Faked Being ‘Sick’ And ‘Injured’ To Avoid Playing Prime Derrick Rose: ‘It Was Crazy How Many People Was Getting Sick When It Was Time To Play Chicago’

Former NBA guards John Lucas III and Raymond Felton admitted that players faked being “sick” and “injured” to avoid playing prime Derrick Rose. 

Lucas III, who played with Rose on the Chicago Bulls, talked about it in 2021. 

Meanwhile, Felton spoke about it this year. 

The Bulls drafted Rose with the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Rose, a Chicago native, won the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year Award. He averaged 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks. 

Rose put up 36 points and 11 assists against the Boston Celtics on the road in his first playoff game. The Bulls took the Celtics to seven games, with Rose averaging 19.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.7 blocks in the seven-game series. 

In Year 2, Rose became the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan to make the All-Star team. The point guard averaged 20.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks. 

In 2010-11, Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history. He won the MVP Award at 22 years and 191 days old. The previous record was held by Wes Unseld, who won MVP at 23 years and 9 days old as a member of the Baltimore Bullets.

Rose averaged 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks in 2010-11. He led the Bulls to the best record in the NBA. Chicago reached the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, where Rose and Co. lost to the Miami Heat in five games. 

Rose’s historic MVP season was so legendary that it netted him a rule in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. The rule is called none other than the “Derrick Rose Rule.”

The “Derrick Rose Rule,” created after Rose won MVP while playing on his rookie contract, allows young stars in the NBA to qualify for a higher maximum salary–30% of the cap instead of 25%–early in their careers.

When players are eligible for rookie-scale extensions, they can qualify for the “Derrick Rose Rule” if they are named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season or two of the past three seasons, named Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season or two of the past three seasons or named MVP in any of the past three seasons.

A Memphis product, Rose has undergone eight surgeries on his body. His most significant injury came in Game 1 of the 2012 playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. Rose tore his left ACL and missed the entire 2012-13 season. He was never the same player after his ACL tear.

Rose has played for the Bulls, New York Knicks (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies. He turns 36 in October. 

Rose has career averages of 17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks. He has made three All-Star teams and one All-NBA team.