From Derrick Rose to Bo Jackson: Which athlete would you give a do-over?
Imagine giving one athlete in sports history a career do-over.
All the injuries and off-the-field or court problems just magically disappear forever and we get to see how that career played out.
Who would you pick?
Yahoo Sports asked that very question on Twitter.
If you could give one athlete a do over career who would you pick?
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 21, 2020
The responses were endless, but a few names appeared the most.
Derrick Rose
Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011 and looked like he would lead the Chicago Bulls back to glory.
But after multiple knee injuries, including a torn ACL in the 2012 playoffs, Rose was never the same. He’s rebounded into becoming a solid role player, but Bulls fans will continue to wonder what could’ve been if Rose stayed healthy.
Robert Griffin III
The former No. 2 pick and Heisman Trophy winner electrified the NFL, winning Rookie of the Year and making the Pro Bowl in his first season (2012) with the Washington Redskins.
But RG3 never fully recovered from the knee injuries he sustained in his rookie year. Kirk Cousins eventually supplanted Griffin in Washington, and he’s been a backup quarterback ever since.
Bo Jackson
Jackson is still the only professional athlete in history to be an All-Star in both football and baseball.
His football career came to a halt in 1991 when he suffered a hip injury while playing for the Los Angeles Raiders in the playoffs. He played three more shortened MLB seasons (missed all of 1992), finishing his career with the California Angels in 1994.
Would “Bo Knows” have been the greatest athlete of all time had his hip stayed intact?
Greg Oden
Oden’s career seemed doomed from the start. He underwent microfracture surgery after the Portland Trail Blazers selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft and missed his entire rookie season.
It didn’t get any better after that as Oden was limited to just 82 games in three seasons.
The player who went directly after Oden in that draft? Kevin Durant.
Brandon Roy
From one former Trail Blazer to another. Roy was drafted by Portland with No. 6 pick in the 2006 NBA draft after starring at Washington. The injuries started early as Roy was limited to just 55 games in his first season, but his talent was so evident that he claimed Rookie of the Year.
Roy was healthy for the two seasons after his rookie year, but nagging knee injuries started to derail his career. By 2011, Roy retired due to degenerative arthritis in his knees. He attempted a come-back with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012, but it only lasted five games.
In his short five years with Portland, Roy was a three-time All Star and made an All-NBA Team twice.
Kerry Wood
Wood burst onto the scene with the Cubs as a 20-year-old in 1998. In his fifth career start, Wood tossed a historic one-hit, 20-strikeout game against the Houston Astros. Chicago thought it had a star, but that proved to be the top of Wood’s career.
Wood underwent Tommy John Surgery during next year’s spring training. He dealt with triceps and knee injuries later in his career before finally moving to a relief role.
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