Basketball is a beautiful game, the style and flair capture your attention. The adrenaline rush you get from running up and down the court is like no other. When you're in between those lines, you become a different person, you become one with the game. The NBA is the greatest basketball league in the world, with the greatest players in the world.

Today, the league is dominated by megastars such as Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, James Harden and Russell Westbrook. However, at the turn of the decade, there was another superstar who was quickly becoming a household name, Derrick Rose.

Derrick Rose recently returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers after taking time-off to reassess his basketball future. He suffered an ankle injury against Milwaukee early in the season and hasn't played since. His teammates LeBron and Dwyane Wade have voiced their support for Rose as he went through this difficult time. It's crazy to think in 2011, D. Rose, LeBron, and Wade were battling for eastern conference supremacy and in 2017, they were all on the same team, though at vastly different parts of their career. LeBron is in his 15th year and is still the top dog in the league. Dwyane Wade, also a 15th-year veteran, is a leading sixth man of the year candidate for the Cavaliers.

To be honest with you guys, there is nothing that makes me more upset basketball-wise than Derrick Rose. He was drafted in 2008 out of Memphis, won Rookie of the year for the 2008-2009 season and was an all-star by 2010. He was named the youngest MVP in league history at age 22 at the end of the 2010-2011 NBA season and led the Chicago Bulls to the Eastern Conference finals. The future was incredibly bright for Derrick Rose.

From that point on, a hall-of-fame level career was derailed. Here is a quick rundown of the injuries. During 2011-2012, he suffered injuries to his big toe, back, and ankle. In game 1 of the semifinals against the 76ers, he tore his ACL. He missed the whole next season. Ten games into the 2013-2014 season, he tore his meniscus and missed the rest of the season again. The following season, he missed significant time with a torn meniscus, eventually returning in time for the playoffs, the Bulls lost 4-2 to the Cavs in the semifinals. In 2015-2016, he suffered a fractured orbital bone and played with a mask for the first few weeks.

After playing in the 2016-2017 season in a junked up New York Knicks system, Rose signed for the veteran's minimum to try and win a championship in Cleveland. During his time in New York, Rose faced on and off court drama, starting with his sexual assault case, where he was eventually found not guilty. Then, in January, Rose suddenly disappeared from the team with no warning. That incident, combined with the sloppy play of the team ensured Rose would not return to the team the following season.

This is where we are with Derrick Rose. Once one of the best players in the world, and a possible future face of the league, he's an NBA afterthought. Injuries have cost him what was supposed to be the best years of his career, and now he looks the part of an NBA journeyman. Derrick Rose can still show fans glimpses of the player he was when he was crowned MVP at age 22, in a league that employed LeBron, Kobe, Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade in their primes.

Six years later, he's playing backup on a championship worthy team, trying to secure another long-term deal next summer.

When we talk about the best players playing point guard, Rose's name isn't mentioned. Guys like Curry, Harden, Westbrook, they all have surpassed him. Others like Kyrie, Paul, and Wall, have as well. No longer elite, D. Rose is hanging on to a career that had so much promise. It's a sad progression for a once-in-a-generation talent.