CHICAGO — Derrick Rose mentioned he was “nonetheless in a daze” after listening to Saturday morning that the Chicago Bulls deliberate to retire his No. 1 jersey and add it to the rafters subsequent season.
The information got here hours earlier than the Bulls have been set to host Rose on Saturday evening on the United Center throughout their sport towards the New York Knicks. Both groups wore shirts honoring Rose throughout pregame warmups with the date “1.4.25” — all three numbers Rose wore throughout his profession — and the group unveiled the Derrick Rose Atrium Experience to highlight distinctive memorabilia from Rose’s profession.
Though Rose mentioned he was trying ahead to the jersey ceremony subsequent season, he admitted he could not course of these feelings with the approaching celebration this weekend.
“Tonight is just not about that,” Rose mentioned earlier than the sport. “It’s about me giving everyone that is on this room, everyone that was part of the story, the journey, the great, the unhealthy, the ugly, it is celebrating everybody.”
The group hosted a tribute ceremony to Rose throughout halftime with remarks from broadcasters Stacey King and Neil Funk and former teammate Joakim Noah, who led a sold-out crowd right into a chant of “M-V-P, M-V-P.” The ceremony additionally included a tribute video to Rose, highlighting his profession, and the debut of a brief movie produced by the previous Bulls star known as “Becoming a Rose” as a salute to the town of Chicago.
“Thank you Chicago for forcing me to be nice,” Rose mentioned throughout his halftime remarks. “For placing these expectations on me.”
The Bulls would go on to outscore the Knicks by 24 within the third quarter after trailing by 9 at halftime en path to a 139-126 victory on Rose’s particular evening.
Rose, a Chicago native, performed eight seasons with the Bulls and have become the youngest MVP in NBA historical past.
He might be simply the fifth participant to have his jersey retired in franchise historical past becoming a member of Jerry Sloan (No. 4), Bob Love (No. 10), Michael Jordan (No. 23) and Scottie Pippen (No. 33). The Bulls even have banners that honor former coach Phil Jackson and former common supervisor Jerry Krause.
No participant has worn Rose’s jersey quantity whereas enjoying in a sport since he was traded to the New York Knicks in 2016. Chicago briefly issued the quantity to Michael Carter-Williams and Anthony Morrow, however each switched to a special quantity after fan backlash. After his time with the Bulls, Rose performed for the Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies throughout his 15-year profession.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached Rose in Chicago, Minnesota and New York, mentioned he thought there was no query Rose was a Hall of Fame participant.
“In trying within the eyes of the opponent, after they needed to guard him, you would see the worry, and the respect,” Thibodeau mentioned earlier than Saturday’s sport. “His potential to play his greatest when his greatest was wanted, massive video games, playoff video games, video games which can be significant, he went to a special stage. And he did it towards the perfect … the true measure of a person is how he handles adversity and no one did it higher.”
Days main as much as Saturday’s ceremony, followers celebrated Rose because the Bulls and Rose’s representatives with Adidas unveiled a listing of neighborhood occasions.
He opened a pop-up flower store for sooner or later in Chicago, which drew a whole bunch of followers who lined up outdoors in the midst of winter to attend for his or her bouquet and picture. Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, declared Saturday as Derrick Rose Day within the metropolis. Rose hosted a charity basketball sport at his highschool alma mater and took the courtroom together with his son, PJ. Then on Saturday, followers lined up outdoors the United Center greater than an hour earlier than gates opened in anticipation of the night.
“You’re not solely the MVP,” Noah mentioned throughout his halftime speech, “you are the individuals’s champ.”
Thibodeau added: “He’s most likely essentially the most beloved participant within the league.”
Although Rose nonetheless has a powerful connection to his hometown metropolis, he mentioned Saturday that he by no means got here near rejoining the Bulls earlier than his profession was performed.
“The time that I had off with PJ and my youngsters throughout this summer time, notably this summer time, was life-changing,” Rose mentioned. “When I did make the choice on simply me cease enjoying, I did not care the place I used to be. It was prefer it’s time. I could not commerce that in.”
The Bulls chosen Rose with the No. 1 choose in 2008 and he was named the 2008-09 rookie of the 12 months. He was a three-time All-Star and named the 2010-11 MVP, changing into the youngest in league historical past at 22. However, Rose’s profession in Chicago was derailed by accidents, together with a torn ACL and medial meniscus in his proper knee (twice). He completed his profession with 12,573 factors and three,770 assists in 723 video games.
However, regardless of the accidents, Rose mentioned he does not contemplate “what-ifs” about his profession.
“The final time I had these conversations was years, years in the past, and who is aware of?” Rose mentioned. “But on the similar time, with me being obsessed [with basketball], I would not have came upon who I used to be as an individual. I used to be obsessive about the sport. So if I’d’ve received a championship, I’d’ve received 4 and that will’ve pulled me away additional and additional away from discovering self-knowledge, self-revelation, identification.
“Everybody’s story is totally different. For some cause, mine ended up being this manner. Coming from Chicago, we rolled with the punches.”
