Twelve years ago, Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP

Derrick Rose was unstoppable during that season.

© Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Before the start of the Chicago Bulls' 2010-2011 season, a then-22-year-old Derrick Rose wondered out loud why he couldn't be the league's Most Valuable Player when the regular season ended. When it was all said and done, there he was, hoisting the MVP trophy and fulfilling his own prophecy as he was only 22 years and 191 days old at the time.

Overwhelming winner

The former Memphis star was the clear-cut winner that season, receiving a whopping 113 of the 121 first-place votes. LeBron James received only four, Dwight Howard got three, while the late great Kobe Bryant received one. Rose's MVP campaign was both spectacular and inspiring, as he averaged 25 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds. Most importantly, he helped lead the Bulls to the top of the Eastern Conference with a 62-20 record—a massive 41-win improvement from the previous season.

Put in a lot of work

While some viewed Rose's declaration at the start of the season as a cocky statement, Rose put in the hard work to back it up.

"Back in training camp when I said I wanted to be MVP, I wasn't trying to be cocky at all," Rose said. "I knew that I put a lot of hard work in over the summer in the offseason, and I just wanted to push myself."

Rose backed up his words as he ended up putting up historic numbers during the season, registering over 2,000 points, 600 assists, and 300 rebounds—a feat unheard of at that time.