To put it kindly, sports in Chicago have been an embarrassment. The Chicago Bears are riding a two-game losing streak and haven’t won a road game against a team with a winning record since Week 7 – of the 2011 season.

Both baseball teams ended their equally-disastrous seasons with last-place divisional finishes and a combined record of 129-195, an embarrassing 66 games under .500. Even the once-dominant Chicago Bulls haven’t made an NBA Finals Appearance in almost 15 years.

As lifelong fans in the oh-so-frustrating world of sports, we understand what it’s like to see your city in a downward spiral of sports with little glimmer of hope.

No matter how bad the going gets, though, no amount of sympathy makes it OK for a fan base to overhype a player so much more than he deserves – especially when it comes to the “best of the best” debate. Unfortunately, the Chicago faithful have done just that with their famed Bulls’ point guard Derrick Rose.

Make no mistake; Rose is an all-star NBA point guard. The man has strung together one heck of a career basketball resume and, barring another detrimental injury to the Chicago-native’s left knee, Rose could undoubtedly be on his way to the Basketball Hall of Fame when his career finishes.

Right now, none of that matters. All that matters is that the supposed “saving grace” of a Chicago franchise is not and has not been what people want him to be: the best player, or point guard for that matter, in the NBA. Rose, the first overall pick in the 2008 draft by Chicago, has played just three full seasons with his team, sitting out half of the 2010-11 season and all of the 2011-12 season due to injury. He has outshone nobody in most major statistical categories.

Yes, he was the point guard of a team that earned a No. 1 overall seed in the 2011-12 playoffs, and he’s the recipient of an NBA MVP award. Statistically, Rose has been good, not great, and certainly not the best of the best.

Take his 2009-10 MVP season. The 6-foot-three guard finished the season with an impressive second overall in points per game among point guards.

Good so far, right?

That same year, Rose also averaged 6.0 assists per game, ninth best among point guards, 0.73 steals per game, tied for 25th best among point guards and tied for 95th among all players. He also had a .766 shooting percentage from the free throw line, which is a paltry 24th best among point guards in the league. The numbers are quite the same for his 2010-11 season, his third overall in the league.

Here’s where things take a turn for the worse.

His numbers dropped dramatically during his injury-plagued 2011-12 year.  Rose played just 39 games, finishing second overall among point guards scoring (21.8 PPG) behind a lowly .435 shooting percentage, which was 31st overall among point guards.

The numbers for Rose’s three-point shooting percentage, rebounds per game, and turnovers per game are just as disappointing. During his MVP season, Rose finished 40th overall in three-point shooting percentage, tied for seventh overall in rebounds per game, and tied for 32nd overall in turnovers per game among point guards.

No player excels in every stat across the board, but for a player that is supposed to be the savior of a franchise, his numbers show he is clearly not the best point guard in the league, let alone the best overall player.

When it comes down to it, no amount of fan hype or comical jabs are going to alter the fact that Derrick Rose is a great basketball player and will be for years to come. With that being said, there may not be a player to return from injury in this decade who has been more overhyped, both from a statistical standpoint and a team standpoint.

Rose does not fulfill “the best in the NBA” label his supporters have unfairly stamped on him in the impending months leading up to his return. That’s a title that only comes after years and years of NBA dominance – something Rose has yet to accomplish.

Here’s to wishing the best of luck to Rose’s NBA return, and best of wishes to your sanity the next time you find yourself knee-deep in an argument with a Bulls fan on who truly is the best player in all of basketball.