2. Derrick Rose
The NBA community's introduction to Derrick Rose was unforgettable. He was drafted out of the University of Memphis in 2008 and he immediately put the league on notice. It was a fantastic situation to be drafted into, as the Chicago Bulls also had John Salmons, Ben Gordon and others to help take attention from the dynamic athleticism Derrick Rose was unleashing on the league.
His explosiveness at the point guard position is only rivaled by one player in the history of the league: Russell Westbrook. He won Rookie of the Year, went to the All-Star game in year two and won MVP in his third season as the youngest to do so.
Rose is one of the NBA's "what if" stories with guys like Anfernee Hardaway, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady and Brandon Roy. These players were all supremely talented but had their trajectories altered by devastating injuries. But injuries are outside of a team's control and based on the years D. Rose gave fans before his decline, he deserves to be high on this list. He had endless potential.