Joakim Noah describes moment he knew Rose was 'special' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Before Derrick Rose broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for points by a rookie in a playoff debut, or became the youngest MVP in NBA history, Joakim Noah knew the Chicago Bulls' starting point guard was special.
In fact, speaking to JJ Redick and Tommy Alter in an episode of The Old Man & The Three podcast, Noah pinpointed a precise moment in Rose's first professional season that exhibited his will to be great.
The scene was a film session led by head coach Vinny Del Negro. The context was the Bulls preparing for a matchup against the Phoenix Suns and Steve Nash, who was then one season removed from winning back-to-back MVP awards.
And although Rose's Bulls tenure is best remembered for his offensive prowess and preternatural athleticism, the story focuses on the defensive end of the court.
"We're playing against Steve Nash, Steve Nash is the MVP, playing against Phoenix," Noah said on the podcast. "We're watching film and Vinny goes, 'Kirk (Hinrich), you got Steve Nash.' And Derrick goes, 'No he doesn't. I got Steve Nash.' He (Del Negro) goes, 'No, our best on-ball defender is Kirk Hinrich. Kirk Hinrich, you're guarding Steve Nash.'
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"And Derrick, who is painfully shy (says): 'No. I got Steve Nash. I'm not running from no matchup.' He wanted to be special from the get."
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Rose won Rookie of the Year that season, nearly led the Bulls to an upset of the defending champion Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, then made each of the next three Eastern Conference All-Star teams while winning MVP in 2011.
It was a revelatory rise to most. But the success was not shocking to those in the Bulls' building.
"We knew before, during the (2008-09) regular season, that he was special," Noah said.
"Just because he was quiet, people thought that he was some, like, real humble kid. No. The way that he carried himself, he was a big dreamer. He knew he was great. He knew he was destined for greatness."
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