{"id":431979,"date":"2026-01-25T08:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T08:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/431979\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T08:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T08:49:10","slug":"derrick-rose-chicago-and-a-legacy-forever-in-the-rafters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/431979\/","title":{"rendered":"Derrick Rose, Chicago and a legacy forever in the rafters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Derrick Rose. Chicago Bulls. Immortalized.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Saturday in Chicago was all about, inside the United Center, where a hometown kid became a permanent part of the franchise history. A full-circle tribute from a city to its hometown hero, sealing a legacy that has lived far beyond the box score.<\/p>\n

From the pregame ceremony to the voices filling the building, the night belongs to a player who didn\u2019t just wear a Bulls jersey. He became part of Chicago\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n

The Roots<\/p>\n

Before the ceremony, Rose was still processing the magnitude of the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unreal. It still didn\u2019t hit me,\u201d Rose said pregame. \u201cAll of this, I\u2019m still taking in and trying to process in real time. Even with the weather conditions outside, knowing it\u2019s a Chicago thing to show up, to fight, to show up to an event, that\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the building, that connection was already felt.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(L to R): Shevon Coleman, Ayesha Braggs and Ciah Duprey take a walk through the United Center\u2019s \u2018Rose Garden.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Derrick Rose super fan because I\u2019ve watched him all the way from Englewood, where I\u2019m from, to this moment here,\u201d said Ayesha Braggs. \u201cI\u2019ve watched our city go through highs and lows through the Michael Jordan era. Knowing that he was the youngest MVP ever and that he fought through injury, he\u2019s a true story of what Chicago is.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the City Blooms<\/p>\n

The United Center was transformed for the ceremony. The court was set with black velvet couches full of family and friends, a live band filled the arena, and a custom-designed banner stood apart from every other in the building. No other banner in the rafters carries a design, but this one featured eight roses stitched inside of the No. 1, symbolizing each season Rose played as a Chicago Bull.<\/p>\n

Rose walked out in a black suit with silver embellishments, greeting family and friends at center court before stopping to embrace his mother, showering her with kisses as the crowd roared.<\/p>\n

Video tributes followed with messages from current players and Bulls legends Scottie Pippen with a message of \u201cOnce a Bull, always a Bull,\u201d followed by Michael Jordan congratulations, bringing the building to its feet.<\/p>\n

As the arena screens played, the words echoed across the United Center:<\/p>\n

\u201cA story of belief. Belief becomes taken. Talent becomes hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile no Chicago Bulls player will wear No. 1 again, the city will wear it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Standard<\/p>\n

Former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau shared one memory that captured who Rose was when it mattered most.<\/p>\n

Thibodeau recalled the 2011 Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta, when Chicago had lost the first two games at home and the team was heading on the road for Game 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was upset,\u201d Thibodeau said. \u201cJoakim was running late, and then Derrick came up calm as can be. He starts advocating for Jo. Then he brings [Luol Deng] up, Lu brings Taj [Gibson] explaining what happened, why he was late. The next night, Rose delivered one of the most dominant playoff performances of his career, 44 points, seven assists, the game ended early, we win the series and head to the conference finals\u201d<\/p>\n

Thibodeau called Rose a basketball savant who was never afraid of a big moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis humility made our team special,\u201d Thibodeau said. \u201cHis leadership was about trust, accountability, and performance. He showed everyone what it means to be a great Chicago Bull and a great man. The next stop, in my opinion, is the Hall of Fame.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brotherhood<\/p>\n

The voices that helped shape Rose\u2019s legacy were just as present as the banners and tributes.<\/p>\n

Gibson, who spent 14 seasons as Rose\u2019s teammate, spoke about their bond. \u201cI didn\u2019t have a lot of brothers growing up. You were my brother,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cYou were that teammate you could always look to and you see on every highlight I was setting that screen for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deng followed with a reflection that echoed through the building. \u201cAs special a talent as D is, he\u2019s a better human being,\u201d Deng said. \u201cYou\u2019re resilient. You\u2019re original. D, you rose from this city. This is forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joakim Noah pointed to the moment itself. \u201cLet\u2019s not forget it\u2019s a polar vortex and we have a full crowd,\u201d Noah said. \u201cThat speaks volumes. He didn\u2019t just get his jersey retired. He did it in his hometown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still Growing<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rose reflected on the relationship between himself and the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis journey was never about me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was about creating synergy that the city could pull from, and somehow I was the vessel. Now being 37, I see it was always bigger than basketball and bigger than me.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for what comes next, Rose hinted at a future beyond basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows what\u2019s next,\u201d he said. \u201cMy goal isn\u2019t being around the game like that. I want to curate things, the flower shop, chess, to separate myself. I want to be in lanes nobody else is in. You\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

But tonight isn\u2019t about what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about what already is.<\/p>\n

A city.
A jersey.
A legacy.<\/p>\n

And a hometown hero forever tied to Chicago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Derrick Rose. Chicago Bulls. Immortalized. That\u2019s what Saturday in Chicago was all about, inside the United Center, where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,179827,459,82],"class_list":["post-431979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-derrick-rose-legacy","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}