Make No Mistake: The Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose Is the NBA's MVP

There are two absolute certainties in the Windy City these days.

Rahm Emanuel will be the next mayor of Chicago. And Derrick Rose is the MVP of the NBA this season.

While the ballots haven't yet been cast in the election for the latter, the outcome is hardly in question.

To coin a phrase from a certain TNT analyst: "I may be wrong, but I doubt it."

In just his third NBA season, Derrick Rose has been the catalyst behind the Bulls' remarkable transformation from Eastern Conference also-rans into legitimate playoff contenders. 

While his numbers–24.9 PPG, 8.1 APG, 4.4 RPG–speak for themselves, Rose's biggest contribution has been his on-court leadership as his Chicago team has battled injuries for most of the season.

Carlos Boozer, the Bulls' biggest offseason acquisition, missed 18 games earlier this year due to a broken hand and a sprained left ankle. Center Joakim Noah missed 30 games of his own with an injury to his right hand. 

In their respective absences, the steady hand of the 22-year-old Rose has successfully guided the Chicago ship. Even with Rose, Boozer and Noah only starting together 11 times this season, the Bulls lead the Central Division with a 40-17 record and are currently on pace to finish the year with 57 wins.

This season, Rose has established himself as not only one of the best point guards in the NBA, but one of its premier talents as well. 

"There's no point playing this game if you don’t want to be the best," said Rose while being interviewed during the All-Star Weekend festivities in Los Angeles. "If I didn’t, I should just retire now."

No guard – and perhaps, no player – in the league attacks the rim with the ferocity of Rose, who propels his 6'3", 190-pound frame down the lane with reckless abandon. His speed and body control is eerily reminiscent of a young Allen Iverson, but Rose is far stronger and more explosive than the former Sixers guard.

While Rose has put up Iverson-like numbers all season, his official coming-out party – a quinceanera, of sorts – came on Feb. 17 in the Bulls' last game before the All-Star break. Against the league-leading San Antonio Spurs, all Rose did was score a career-high 42 points, dish out eight assists and grab five rebounds as he led Chicago to a 109-99 victory.

Also not to be overlooked is his impressive display against the Miami Heat on Feb. 24. In the 93-89 Bulls win, Rose scored 26 points–12 of those in the crucial third quarter in which Chicago outscored Miami 27-12.

So by most accounts, Rose's play this year is more than deserving of the 2010-11 NBA MVP award. But not everyone falls on the same side of the aisle on the issue.

Many of those unwilling to award Rose the MVP are backing the campaign of the Miami Heat's LeBron James. And, to be fair, James is having a stellar season, averaging 26.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists as his Heat is in a virtual tie with the Boston Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Truth be told, James and Rose are the only two players whose names should even be mentioned in the MVP conversation. With more than six weeks left in the season, the NBA's Most Valuable Player race is the athletic equivalent of a runoff election.

With that said, let's clear up a few misconceptions. 

The Most Valuable Player award shouldn't simply be given to the best player in the NBA. Nor should it merely be awarded to the best player on the team with the league's best record.

And–despite the protests from the pro-LeBron party–it definitely isn't about what a player's former team is (or isn't) doing without him.

By its very definition, the MVP award is for the player who is the most valuable to his team. While that standard may not have necessarily been upheld in the past, it is the very essence of the honor.

Simply put, without LeBron James, the Miami Heat would still be a legitimate contender for the Eastern Conference crown. The same couldn't be said for the Bulls sans Rose.

Disagree if you'd like. But even LeBron's teammates have backed Rose's candidacy for the MVP award, and that should count for something.

"Derrick Rose has done a phenomenal job this year for his team, and I think if you take him off the Chicago Bulls team, I believe that team will be a below-average ballclub," Heat forward Juwan Howard said during an interview on the "Waddle and Silvy Show" on Chicago's ESPN 1000. "If he stays on this pace that he's on right now, he's got my [MVP] vote if I was part of the committee."

Responding to Howard's comments in an interview with Bulls.com, Heat forward Chris Bosh echoed those same sentiments. "He's playing like the best point guard in the league and the best player in the league," said Bosh. "You take him out of the lineup, there's no telling what you'd get."

Five months ago, Rose wondered aloud why he couldn't be the league's Most Valuable Player. At the time, his statements reflected more about his belief in his abilities than anything else.

"Why can't I be the MVP of the league?" said Rose during the Chicago Bulls' Media Day back in late September. "Why can't I be the best player in the league?"

Little did we know that his words would be so prophetic.