When discussing players who never got to fulfill their true potential due to injuries, Derrick Rose's name often comes up. The Chicago Bulls' explosive point guard was the youngest player in NBA history to win MVP at just 22 years old in 2011. However, devastating knee injuries would ultimately subdue his meteoric rise in the league.

Although D-Rose had already taken the NBA by storm when he arrived as the first-overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, some were still skeptical about the young man's abilities. One of those skeptics was then-New York Knicks guard Jamal Crawford. However, in a game against the Bulls, he quickly realized that the young guard would be trouble for defenders in the league.

Didn't immediately buy into the hype

By the time D-Rose was in the league, "J-Crossover" was already a seasoned veteran who had seen players arrive with such hype only to falter under the bright lights of the NBA. He had seen the former Memphis Tiger's impressive highlights but still wasn't convinced he was the real deal. So, he talked to a former teammate, Kirk Hinrich, about the hyper-athletic guard.

"There was a time when Kirk Hinrich was playing with him. I hadn't seen D-Rose up close, and Kirk was like, Mal, he's different.' I'm like, 'Man, is he better than this person?' He's like, 'He's better than him.' I'm like, 'Is he better than him?' He's like, 'I'm telling you,'" Crawford shared.

"I'm like, 'Man, there's no way he's better than these vet point guards at the time.' I'm talking vet, vet point guards. He's like, 'I'm telling you,'" Jamal continued.

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Crawford saw D-Rose up close

However, the three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner's mind changed when he saw Derrick play at Madison Square Garden on April 12, 2011. With the bright lights of New York City shining down on him, D-Rose put on an incredible show, scoring 26 points and throwing down three unforgettable slam dunks. There was one, though, that convinced Jamal that Rose truly was special.

"I was watching the game when he played for the Bulls, pre-injury. He had three dunks against the Knicks in the Garden. He got a steal, and I was just like, 'What dunk is he going to do next?' He just did three different dunks. He casually, calmly, coolly, stole it, walked up, touched his toes, and ducked his head from the rim," Crawford stated. "I said, 'It's over.'"

"He was like a world-class track athlete in basketball form. It was unreal. It was just incredible," Jamal continued.

Unfortunately for D-Rose and hoop fans, Derrick tore his ACL in Game 1 of their first-round series against Philadelphia in the 2012 NBA Playoffs. He would return from that injury but was never quite the same player he was before.

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