Photo: Jazmine Moering
Matthew Adams
Managing Editor
Throughout the history of sports there have been so many players who have had their rise to fame but whether it be injury or just bad play, their moment in history as icons was never realized.
One of these players is Derrick Rose. I feel Rose could have been one the best point guards in NBA history during his time but serious injuries prevented this from happening.
I believe that he would have had two MVPs, but around that time Kevin Durant was tearing up the league and Lebron James had made his arrival in Miami, so the chances were slim. The possibility wasn’t slim though.
Rose’s ACL injury was devastating, not just for me but for the other Bulls fans. At his peak he was averaging around 25 points.
The NBA has so many players like this which is a depressing thought when recounting how many people have stories like this.
Brandon Roy was another NBA player who had such a bright future come to a end.
Just like Rose, the ACL was the injury that was the predictor of his fall. The ACL is such a tough injury that coming back from it is almost impossible.
Roy had basically the same archetype as Rose, the aggressive slasher point-guard. He didn’t have the same type of injury as Rose but the knee was one the main reasons he left.
He was only able to stay in the league for 6 years, which is premature for an NBA player. He definitely had a bright future ahead of him.
Greg Oden is another special case. He was the first pick of the first round but didn’t transfer when coming to the league. His first year he did not play due to knee injury and that same trend persisted throughout his career.
One year he was able to play 61 games but this deteriorated to 21 games which is insane. But not only did Oden have many game limiting knee surgeries, he also had one shorter leg, so it was tough for him.
The NFL has many stories like this as well. One story that comes to mind is Sterling Sharpe, who played for the Green Bay Packers and is also Shannon Sharpe’s elder brother. He suffered an insane injury at the peak of his career.
He had a lower back injury that when looking back on the tape he just sat and laid there. Nobody knew if he was badly hurt, so it made it even worse when he got hurt.
He was probably the best receiver at one point. One year he had over 1,400+ yards and 90 receptions which is an amazing feat to have as a receiver.
The Ryan Shazier injury was probably one of the worst injuries I have seen and heard of. What makes his injury even worse is that he only played 4 years in the league. Then it’s the fact that he was able to make the Pro Bowl two times in a row.
Whenever I hear one of these stories, I think about what could have been done to prevent the injury and it’s not much that you can do, especially playing a physical sport like football where your body is consistently on the line.
It’s definitely sad to see injuries like this. When you see someone who puts their all into the sport and either can’t perform at the same level or they just can’t play at all hurts.
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