The Chicago Bulls selected Derrick Rose with the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft.
With the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls selected Derrick Rose, a 6-3, 190-pound point guard out of the University of Memphis.
Rose posted averages of 14.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game as a freshman and led Memphis to the NCAA National Championship game. He appeared in all 40 games for the Tigers, who went 38-2 and set an NCAA men’s basketball record for wins in a season.
“In this league, point guards are really hard to find," Bulls VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson said after making the pick. "He’s got a strength about him that most guards don’t have in this league at that position.
He’s got a great burst and he’s very fast with the ball. I think he’s going to make other players better, and I think he’ll give us some leadership abilities as he goes on that we really need. For us, it was the right pick.”
“I think back to all the times people have told me I was good enough to play for the Bulls, and now it could come true,'' said Rose. '''I’d love to play here. I know the whole city would be behind me and it’s such a great sports city. The Bulls have a lot of talent and they’re young, too. I think if I’m lucky enough to come to this team, we’ll do some damage.”
Rose attended Simeon Career Academy High School in Chicago, where he helped the school become the first Chicago Public League team to win back-to-back state titles in Illinois prep history. His teams went 120-12 (.909) during his four years at Simeon.
“I’m just an extremely competitive person,” said Rose. “Everyone was saying I was too young or that another player was going to get the best of me because they were older, but age doesn’t always matter. It’s about being the better player. I just wanted to prove people wrong and show that I was the best player on the court.”
Rose went on to win NBA Rookie of the Year, joining Michael Jordan (1985) and Elton Brand (2000) as the only Bulls to do so. He averaged 16.8 points on 47.5% field goal shooting, 6.3 assists (leading all rookies) and 3.9 rebounds per game
In his playoff debut against the defending champion Boston Celtics, Rose recorded 36 points (tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA record for points scored by a rookie in his playoff debut set 1970), 11 assists, and 4 rebounds as the Bulls prevailed in a 105–103 overtime win on the road.
In his 2nd season, Rose blossomed into an All-Star and in his 3rd season he became the NBA's Youngest MVP ever.
Rose is the second No. 1 overall pick in franchise history (Elton Brand, 1999)
The Bulls also acquired Omer Asik, the 36th selection, in a three-team deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets. Asik spent just two seasons in Chicago from 2010-12.
