Eighteen months and one day. That's how long Derrick Rose went between NBA games. He missed the entire 2012-13 season despite being cleared to play nearly a year after the inury. Rose took a lot of heat for taking his time to sit out and mentally readjust to the game, but all is fogiven now that he's back. He played his first game on Tuesday night, and while he showed flashes of his former self, the rust was definitely apparent—Rose shot 4-15 from the floor and committed five turnovers en route to a 107-95 loss to the Heat.
Rose is returning to a different basketball and overall sports landscape though. When he went down, there was still a majority of NBA fans who thought that LeBron James would never get it done in the Finals. Two titles later, and it feels like Rose is the league's only hope to stop the Heat. Scenes have changed in other sports too—the Boston Red Sox tore down their team and rebuilt in one season, Johnny Manziel became college football's biggest star, and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired. We cover all that and more in 25 Things That Happened in the Sports World Before Derrick Rose Returned.