In the ESPN and TrueHoop Network collaboration to rank the NBA's top 500 players, Derrick Rose was named the fifth-best player in the NBA a little more than a year after he was named the NBA MVP for the 2011 season.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul were the only four to rank ahead of the Bulls point guard on the list, in the order, as Rose managed to edge Kobe Bryant for the final top five spot.

During the 2011-12 season, Rose averaged 21.8 points and 7.9 assists per game, earning him a third consecutive All-Star appearance. He helped lead the Bulls to the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but when he tore his ACL in the first game of Chicago's first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, his season was over and the team's followed shortly thereafter.

In December 2011, Rose signed a five-year contract extension with the Bulls for $94.8 million.