Athletes We Wish Could've Stayed Healthy

When athletic brilliance is interrupted by injury.

Derrick Rose Looked Good During Team USA Practice - Derrick Rose has played in only 10 games the past two NBA seasons because of a torn ACL in his left knee and torn meniscus in his right knee. Yet, the Chicago Bulls point guard looked like his aggressive self during Team USA training camp in Las Vegas on Monday, slashing to the hoop and dribble driving before pulling up with jumpers. “My confidence is very high, and that's the only thing you might see this year,” Rose told ESPN, “that my confidence level is through the roof." (Photo: John Locher/AP Photo)

1 / 10

Athletes We Wish Could've Stayed Healthy - Derrick Rose has been through a lot, yet he keeps pushing. After playing only 10 games the past two NBA seasons because of a torn ACL in his left knee and torn meniscus in his right knee, the Chicago Bulls point guard showed no signs of wear and tear, aggressively slashing to the hoop and pulling up for jumpers during Team USA training camp in Las Vegas on Monday. Rose's convincing performance marked his highly-anticipated comeback from knee injuries and makes us optimistically think that he can be a force in the NBA once again. Whether Rose can put together a full NBA season without injury remains to be seen, but at least we're hopeful. So many sports stars of the past had their careers dashed by injury. Here's a look at those stars who have that dreadful "if they stayed healthy" asterisk lingering over their legacy.(...

Bo Jackson - If there ever was an athlete we wish could've avoided injury, it was Bo Jackson.The two-sport phenom played for the MLB's Kansas City Royals and NFL's Los Angeles Raiders from 1987-1990 before a relatively routine tackle in January 1991 caused a serious-enough hip injury to end his football career. Jackson wound up playing four more seasons of MLB baseball before retiring from sports for good. However, his mark on sports remains an athletic blur of brilliance with many moments to remember. There was the now iconic moment when he ran over Seattle Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth in 1987. Awesome stuff. But unfortunately, Bo knows injuries. (Photo: PCN/Corbis)

2 / 10

Bo Jackson - If there ever was an athlete we wish could've avoided injury, it was Bo Jackson.The two-sport phenom played for the MLB's Kansas City Royals and NFL's Los Angeles Raiders from 1987-1990 before a relatively routine tackle in January 1991 caused a serious-enough hip injury to end his football career. Jackson wound up playing four more seasons of MLB baseball before retiring from sports for good. However, his mark on sports remains an athletic blur of brilliance with many moments to remember. There was the now iconic moment when he ran over Seattle Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth in 1987. Awesome stuff. But unfortunately, Bo knows injuries. (Photo: PCN/Corbis)

Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway - A 6-foot-7 point guard with Magic Johnson-type handle, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway hit the NBA with the Orlando Magic in 1993 to instant fanfare. "Penny" had an arsenal of inside/outside moves and he was putting his full repertoire on display alongside Shaquille O'Neal. The duo instantly made the Magic a threat in the East, reaching the 1994-95 NBA Finals. When O'Neal left town for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996, the Magic were on Hardaway's shoulders. His shoulders held up fine...his knees, however, didn't. That 1996-97 season was the start of "Penny" never playing a full season again due to nagging injuries. And that's a damn shame considering the four-time All-Star had serious game.(Photo: Tim DeFrisco/Allsport)

3 / 10

Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway - A 6-foot-7 point guard with Magic Johnson-type handle, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway hit the NBA with the Orlando Magic in 1993 to instant fanfare. "Penny" had an arsenal of inside/outside moves and he was putting his full repertoire on display alongside Shaquille O'Neal. The duo instantly made the Magic a threat in the East, reaching the 1994-95 NBA Finals. When O'Neal left town for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996, the Magic were on Hardaway's shoulders. His shoulders held up fine...his knees, however, didn't. That 1996-97 season was the start of "Penny" never playing a full season again due to nagging injuries. And that's a damn shame considering the four-time All-Star had serious game.(Photo: Tim DeFrisco/Allsport)

Grant Hill: October 5 - The retired basketball icon is 42.(Photo: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

4 / 10

Grant Hill - Grant Hill splashed onto the NBA scene with the Detroit Pistons in 1994, winning the NBA's co-Rookie of the Year with Jason Kidd. Hill kept pouring in buckets through the years, averaging 25.8 points per game in the 1999-2000 season. But after Hill's first six seasons in the NBA, injuries set in, leaving the All-Star looking like a shell of his former self. Hill only played 47 games from 2000-03 with the Orlando Magic due to severe ankle injuries. Hill would battle everything from a hernia to more ankle issues through the years. Still, he managed to be a seven-time NBA All-Star and average 10 points per game for the Phoenix Suns at 39 years old in the 2011-12 season. (Photo: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Antonio McDyess - Antonio McDyess thundered his way into becoming a 20-point-plus scorer for the Denver Nuggets in 1998-2000, but recurring knee injuries robbed the 6-foot-9 power forward of his explosiveness through the years. And although he was still serviceable, he just wasn't the same player with that high ceiling anymore.   (Photo: Brian Bahr  /Allsport/Getty Images)

5 / 10

Antonio McDyess - Antonio McDyess thundered his way into becoming a 20-point-plus scorer for the Denver Nuggets in 1998-2000, but recurring knee injuries robbed the 6-foot-9 power forward of his explosiveness through the years. And although he was still serviceable, he just wasn't the same player with that high ceiling anymore.   (Photo: Brian Bahr  /Allsport/Getty Images)

ADVERTISEMENT
Yao Ming - To be clear, Yao Ming wasn't a 7-foot-6 novelty of a center. At one point in his NBA career with the Houston Rockets, Ming was a perrenial all-star. However, after his first three years, Ming was never able to put together a full season again due to a series of recurring ankle and foot injuries that eventually forced him to retire in 2011 at the age of 30. Still, his career averages of 19 points, nine rebounds and nearly two blocks per game are pretty solid.(Photo: Mark J. Terrill, File/AP Photo)

6 / 10

Yao Ming - To be clear, Yao Ming wasn't a 7-foot-6 novelty of a center. At one point in his NBA career with the Houston Rockets, Ming was a perrenial all-star. However, after his first three years, Ming was never able to put together a full season again due to a series of recurring ankle and foot injuries that eventually forced him to retire in 2011 at the age of 30. Still, his career averages of 19 points, nine rebounds and nearly two blocks per game are pretty solid.(Photo: Mark J. Terrill, File/AP Photo)

Gale Sayers - Gale Sayers lit the NFL on fire with the Chicago Bears in the 1960s. After dazzling in his three seasons, the dynamic running back was leading the league in rushing yards through the first nine weeks of the 1968 season before tearing ligaments in his right knee. He would injure his left knee a few years later and, by 1971, his six-year NFL career was in the books. Shame too. With speed and power, Sayers still holds the record for most touchdowns in a rookie season with 22 in 1965. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)

7 / 10

Gale Sayers - Gale Sayers lit the NFL on fire with the Chicago Bears in the 1960s. After dazzling in his three seasons, the dynamic running back was leading the league in rushing yards through the first nine weeks of the 1968 season before tearing ligaments in his right knee. He would injure his left knee a few years later and, by 1971, his six-year NFL career was in the books. Shame too. With speed and power, Sayers still holds the record for most touchdowns in a rookie season with 22 in 1965. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)

Daunte Culpepper - Standing 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, Daunte Culpepper was a bad man for the Minnesota Vikings. In fact, during the 2004 NFL season, the entire league didn't have any answers for him at the quarterback position. That year, Culpepper threw for 4,717 yards and 39 touchdowns. By the next season, though, Culpepper's early struggles translated into a major knee injury, which he never quite recovered from. Ever since that 2005 season, Culpepper was used sparingly by three different NFL teams from 2006-09 before walking away from the game. (Photo: Tom Pidgeon  /Allsport/Getty Images)

8 / 10

Daunte Culpepper - Standing 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, Daunte Culpepper was a bad man for the Minnesota Vikings. In fact, during the 2004 NFL season, the entire league didn't have any answers for him at the quarterback position. That year, Culpepper threw for 4,717 yards and 39 touchdowns. By the next season, though, Culpepper's early struggles translated into a major knee injury, which he never quite recovered from. Ever since that 2005 season, Culpepper was used sparingly by three different NFL teams from 2006-09 before walking away from the game. (Photo: Tom Pidgeon  /Allsport/Getty Images)

Ken Griffey Jr. - Think about this for a second, Ken Griffey, Jr. sits sixth on the MLB's all-time home run list with 630. And that's in a career in which he was hampered by nagging injuries. At one point in the 2004 season, "The Kid" needed three titanium screws to hold his hamstring in place. Now just imagine how far gone the home run record — and other milestones — would be if Junior stayed healthy.(Photo: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

9 / 10

Ken Griffey Jr. - Think about this for a second, Ken Griffey, Jr. sits sixth on the MLB's all-time home run list with 630. And that's in a career in which he was hampered by nagging injuries. At one point in the 2004 season, "The Kid" needed three titanium screws to hold his hamstring in place. Now just imagine how far gone the home run record — and other milestones — would be if Junior stayed healthy.(Photo: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Terrell Davis - Terrell Davis's career was dashed as quick as he rushed the Denver Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997 and 1998, the latter year seeing him run for 2,008 yards. Simply put — TD's ground game was insane from 1996-98 and hard to watch from 1999-2002. The latter years saw Davis battling everything from a stress injury in his leg to arthroscopic surgery on both knees. Davis was only 30 when he retired. While NFL running backs generally don't last long, we still wonder what kind of numbers Davis would have put up if he avoided those injuries. (Photo: Brian Bahr/Allsport)

10 / 10

Terrell Davis - Terrell Davis's career was dashed as quick as he rushed the Denver Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997 and 1998, the latter year seeing him run for 2,008 yards. Simply put — TD's ground game was insane from 1996-98 and hard to watch from 1999-2002. The latter years saw Davis battling everything from a stress injury in his leg to arthroscopic surgery on both knees. Davis was only 30 when he retired. While NFL running backs generally don't last long, we still wonder what kind of numbers Davis would have put up if he avoided those injuries. (Photo: Brian Bahr/Allsport)