High school mixtapes are a huge part of basketball culture, even though not all basketball players make it to the NBA, while some have honorable careers in the pros. During their tour, Jordan Brand athletes Luka DoncicZion Williamson, Jayson Tatum and Paolo Banchero all shared their picks for the player with the best high school mixtape. Among the usual choices, like John Wall and Andrew Wiggins, The Dallas Mavericks Superstar Luka Doncic made an interesting choice for the GOAT mixtape: Derrick Rose.
The Jordan Brand athletes shared their picks in an interview with Overtime, which they posted on X, formerly Twitter. After admitting he had only watched “a few” basketball mixtapes at the time, the Slovenian All-Star chose Rose, prompting the interviewer to say, “That’s a good idea.”
The Mavericks Star and the Best High School Mixtapes

Watching mixtapes is a lot of fun, but it’s not a reliable indicator of a player’s potential to become a star in the pros, much less build a long career. Few of them become All-Stars, like John Wall, and even fewer become NBA MVPs like Derrick Rose.
In his prime, the Chicago Bulls star led the team from its post-Michael Jordan purgatory to prominence, becoming the youngest player in the league to win the MVP award in 2011. That season, Rose led the Bulls to 62 wins and all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the Heatles in their first season together.
Despite the defeat, D-Rose became a superstar with averages of 25.0 points and 7.7 assists. However, like Brandon Roy, injuries cut short his best years.
Rose tore his ACL in the first round of the 2012 playoffs, when Tom Thibodeau inexplicably left him in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers, even though the Bulls had a 12-point lead with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.
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Then, slowly but surely, a series of injuries took away his incredible drive and explosiveness, which affected his confidence. His decline from superstar to capable role player forced the Bulls to trade him, and he became an NBA journeyman. In 2023, Rose has signed with the Memphis Grizzliesalthough he missed a good part of the season due to injury.
Still, the athleticism and quick movements of young Derrick Rose must have impressed Luka Doncic when watching his high school compilation. While Doncic plays a completely different style of basketball, it’s hard not to admire the flashiness and speed of Rose’s game.
Can Luka return to the NBA Finals?
Currently, Luka Doncic’s Mavericks teammate, Kyrie Irving, also possesses the craftiness and ball-handling skill that made Derrick Rose such a difficult cover in his prime. Mavericks Failed in 2024 NBA Finals against the Celtics, the Slovenian must feel good about his chances of winning a ring, especially after Klay Thompson Acquisition.