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.