Derrick Rose Accepts NBA MVP Award At Press Conference; Thanks Mother And B.J. Armstrong

Derrick Rose was announced as the NBA’s MVP in a press conference in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon as the youngest player to be named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. Rose, the Chicago Bulls 22-year-old point guard, averaged 25.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds while leading the Chicago Bulls to the top-seed in the Eastern Conference with a 62-20 regular season record.

Rose earned 113 of the 121 NBA MVP votes and a total 1,182 MVP points while Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard was awarded 643 total points despite just three MVP votes. Other players with first place votes including Miami Heat forward LeBron James with four and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant with one vote.

“As great of a player as Derrick Rose is, he’s an even better person,” Gar Forman said leading up to the introduction of announcing this year’s NBA MVP.

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, earlier named the NBA’s Coach of the Year (making he and Rose just the 12th duo in league history to sweep the two awards), talked about Rose’s humility as well as being impressed with Rose during his time with Team USA as well as this season as the first-year head coach of the Bulls.

As Rose took the stage for his acceptance speech, he seemed a little nervous before beginning with the speech for the award — as well as a 2011 Kia Sorrento that will be donated to Meals On Wheels in Chicago.

In his speech he thanked God, his teammates for pushing him, his friends and family, his mother, and former Chicago Bull — and current Rose agent — B.J. Armstrong.

He gave his Rookie of the Year award to his mother, but told media that he wants to keep the MVP trophy at least a couple of years before she “steals it.”

In the press conference’s media questioning, the most interesting answer came when asked to compare himself to the last MVP from Chicago, Michael Jordan, and his five NBA MVP awards.

“I’m not even touching that man right there,” Rose said. “I’m far away from him, it’d be great to get close to him, but this is a different team and a different era. We’re just worrying about right now.”

Chicago's Derrick Rose Named MVP; Youngest Winner In NBA History

Derrick Rose was named MVP of the NBA on Tuesday afternoon following what was considered to be one of the closest Most Valuable Player races in quite some time.

The Chicago Bulls point guard, who averaged 25.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds while leading the Chicago Bulls to the top-seed in the Eastern Conference with a 62-20 regular season record, edged out Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard by 539 votes as Rose finished with 113 first place votes and 1,182 overall points. Howard finished 643 points while Miami Heat forward LeBron James took third, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers took fourth and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant finished in fifth place.

While winning the MVP award on its own is quite impressive, the fact that Rose is the youngest to ever be named the NBA's Most Valuable Player is even more impresssive impressive as he won't even turn 23 until right around the time NBA training camps open next season (barring an NBA lockout, of course).

With Coach Tom Thibodeau winning the NBA's Coach of the Year award over the weekend, the duo becomes just the 12th pair in league history to accomplish the feat.

Derrick Rose Expected To Be Named NBA's MVP Tuesday Afternoon

Derrick Rose is expected to be named the NBA's MVP at 4 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday afternoon after the Chicago Bulls point guard led his team to a 62-20 record while averaging 25.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds this season.

While all of that is impressive in its own right, the most memorable moment of Tuesday afternoon's announcement might be that Rose will be the youngest NBA most valuable player in league history after being named the league's Rookie of the Year just a couple of years ago during the 2008-09 season. Rose, at just 22 years of age, will take over that distinction from former Washington Bullets forward Wes Unseld.

It isn't all that surprising that Rose is being named the Most Valuable Player with the way he carried the Bulls through more than a few games this season, but Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard also had made a solid case for himself.

Regardless, later this afternoon the world will know just how close the NBA's MVP vote really was.