New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose believes he will prove to his doubters that he is still an elite NBA point guard this season, as he still sees himself as one of the best in the league.

The 28-year-old Rose was asked by the New York media following Knicks’ practice on Monday if he wanted to show in 2016-2017 that he is still an elite point guard to his doubters:

“Yeah, but I know I am,” he said. “That’s no surprise to me. It’s only a matter of time until I put it together. All the hard work I put in, everything how I dedicated my whole life to this game, what I sacrificed. It’s only a few that did it and that’s doing it. So it’s all about just putting it together.”

Since winning the NBA’s MVP award in 2010-2011 with the Chicago Bulls, Rose’s production has dropped off largely in-part to various knee injuries, causing him to lose some of his explosiveness and his freakish athleticism that he showed earlier on in his career.

The Knicks made the transaction to trade for Rose in June, shipping center Robin Lopez and guards Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon to Chicago to land the former NBA All-Star. Rose is very excited to start his career in New York:

“I’m very excited. We got a lot of great pieces,” Rose said after practice Monday. “We’re learning how to play together. We’re learning chemistry. But it comes from experience and it comes with playing with each other.”

Kristaps Porinzigs surprised as all in his rookie season last year, and the Knicks have added Rose’s longtime teammate Joakim Noah, and guards Brandon Jennings and Courtney Lee to join Carmelo Anthony on a team that should compete for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks play the Cavaliers in Cleveland tonight to kick off their NBA season, with the Knicks looking to spoil Cleveland’s championship party.

Rose averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game in 66 regular season games last season, the most he’s played in a season since 2010-2011.

[twitter-follow screen_name='tony_montalto' show_count='yes']