It's been tweeted (by Bulls backup C.J. Watson) and denied. It's been rumored for weeks, expected for months.
↵↵Now, reports NPR via the Associated Press, the Bulls' Derrick Rose is expected to be named NBA Most Valuable Player for the past season in a news conference later today, with a presentation made before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday.
↵↵At 22, Rose will become the youngest MVP in league history, supplanting Wes Unseld, who was 23 when he won the award in 1969 (when he was also Rookie of the Year with the then-Baltimore Bullets). He'll become the second Bull, following Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, to win the award.
↵↵Rose averaged 25 points and 7.7 assists per game in a season where the Bulls went from one-and-done in the postseason to a championship contender. And without being boastful, Rose asked the MVP question on the first day of training camp last September:
↵↵"Why can't I be the MVP of the league?" Rose said at Bulls Media Day festivities on Monday at the Berto Center. "Why can't I be the best player in the league?"↵↵
Today, he'll be honored for being the best player in the NBA over the regular season just concluded. Congratulations to D-Rose -- and now, go out and win this series, and a championship trophy, to go with it.