If Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Derrick Rose is voted into the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, it will be because fans believe he is deserving, not because he campaigns for it.
“I don’t sell myself to people. It’s not me. That’s not my character,” Rose said on Friday, per The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “I don’t have an Instagram. I don’t have any of that. It comes from me being in people’s minds for some reason and people really caring.”
Per Krawczynski, the three-time All-Star currently has a Malibu vacation planned for the break and would be looking forward to having a full week off. However, the 30-year-old would welcome the opportunity to share the All-Star experience with his children.
Rose had the third-most votes of any Western Conference player as the league released its first returns on Thursday.
The former NBA MVP’s resurgence has been one of the stories of the 2018-19 season. After averaging just 8.4 points per game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Timberwolves a season ago, Rose is putting up 18.9 points per game while shooting a career-high 46.2 percent from three-point range.
His scoring is at its highest since 2011-12, when he averaged 21.8 points as a member of the Chicago Bulls.
Rose currently finds himself ahead of the likes of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson and Damian Lillard in the voting. But don’t count Timberwolves teammate Karl-Anthony Towns as surprised.
“It’s so amazing,” Towns told Krawczynski on Friday. “Everyone counted him out. Told you guys he was going to be vintage D-Rose this year and he’s been nothing but that, plus some.”
Rose’s 2019 All-Star Game candidacy is off to a good start, but it’s far from a guarantee. Voting runs through Jan. 21. All-Star Game starters will be announced on Jan. 24, with reserves to be revealed a week later on Jan. 31.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
