NBA: Ranking the top 10 moments of the decade

9. Derrick Rose’s youngest of all time, “Why Can’t I Be the MVP” 2010-11 MVP campaign:

After Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP of all time and the first MVP for the Chicago Bulls since Michael Jordan in 2011 it was hard to talk to more than three people without hearing how excited they were about Derrick Rose, his bright future and the return of the Bulls.

Not only did Derrick become the youngest MVP of all time, but he predicted this would happen in his media day press conference.

As Rose began to make a name for himself after winning rookie of the year and making his first all-star team in his second season a reporter asked what expectations he set for himself this year. Rose responded by infamously saying:

"[via ESPN] “Why not? Why can’t I be the MVP of the league? Why can’t I be the best player in the league?”"

LeBron James had just made his decision to go the Miami Heat (coming up again later in the list) to form The Big Three with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, yet Rose not only made these comments but backed them up by leading the Bulls to the best record in the Eastern Conference over the newly formed Big Three.

All the reporters balked at Rose saying it was great to see a young man have so much confidence in himself, but there was no way he was going to win MVP in his third season. However, Rose blew past defenders twice his size with athleticism unlike we’ve ever seen and vertical that made it seem like he was flying through the air off a trampoline when going up for a dunk to prove everyone wrong and become the youngest MVP of all time forcing many to question whether he had potential to become the greatest of all time, a completely reasonable thought in 2011.