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Chicago will retire Derrick Rose\u2019 No. 1 Bulls jersey on Saturday, January 24 following their matchup with the Celtics.<\/p>\n
As a child growing up in Chicago, Derrick Rose witnessed greatness inside the United Center, seeing Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen lead his hometown team to six NBA titles.<\/p>\n
On Saturday night in Chicago, Rose will join greatness inside the United Center as his No. 1 jersey is raised to the rafters, hanging alongside the likes of Jordan\u2019s No. 23 and Pippen\u2019s No. 33.<\/p>\n
But the journey to Saturday\u2019s jersey retirement was not that simple. It faced long odds and countless challenges along the way \u2014 beginning on May 20, 2008.<\/p>\n
1.7%. Those were the odds the Chicago Bulls faced entering the NBA Draft lottery. Somehow, the Bulls defied those odds \u2014 leaping from ninth to first \u2014 to win the rights to the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The top prospect on the board was a local kid from the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago\u2019s South Side\u00a0 \u2014 an ultra-athletic, dynamic 6-foot-3 guard named Derrick Rose.<\/p>\n Growing up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city, Rose immersed himself in the game to avoid the many pitfalls surrounding him on a daily basis. He spent countless hours on the blacktop; Murray Park was his de facto home court, where he\u2019d work on his game and pursue a dream.<\/p>\n Derrick Rose goes back to his childhood playground in Chicago<\/p>\n He made everyone take notice in high school, when he suited up for Simeon Career Academy and led the Wolverines to back-to-back state titles (\u201906-07). That included then-University of Memphis head coach John Calipari.<\/p>\n \u201cWent to the high school and I watched him and I\u2019m like, \u2018I gotta have this guy,\u2019\u201d Calipari said. \u201cHe was so fast. If he ever got the ball stolen from him, it was getting pinned on the other end. He had that floater, even back then, the one, two floater. I had to get him out of the gym. When he first got to campus, he\u2019d be in there for five, six hours.\u201d<\/p>\n As a freshman, Rose led the Tigers to the NCAA Final Four, where they came up just short of winning the program\u2019s first-ever national championship. While Memphis finished as the tournament\u2019s runner-up, Rose had put more people on notice \u2014 NBA scouts who had him at the top of their draft boards heading into June.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select Derrick Rose.\u201d Those words from then-NBA Commissioner David Stern made it official: the kid from Chicago, who grew up a Bulls fan idolizing the 1990s Bulls teams led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, would be suiting up in Bulls Red, White and Black.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m playing at the highest basketball level, in my hometown, man, that\u2019s amazing,\u201d said Rose on draft night.<\/p>\n \u201cInner-city kid out of the city of Chicago to being drafted by the Chicago Bulls; you couldn\u2019t even write a script better than that,\u201d said LeBron James, who had a similar story in 2003 when the kid from Akron, Ohio, was drafted by the nearby Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n An NBA career quickly blossoms in full<\/p>\n Rose was a sensation in Chicago and across the basketball universe the moment he stepped foot on the United Center court as a Bulls rookie. His game jumped off the screen. The combination of speed, skill, athleticism, explosiveness and fearlessness made him a fan favorite from Day 1.<\/p>\n The race for Rookie of the Year was not close. Rose earned 111 of the 120 first-place votes from the media panel after averaging 16.8 points, 6.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds over 81 games. Rose sparked an eight-win improvement in Chicago, leading the Bulls back to the postseason, where a signature moment awaited.<\/p>\n On April 18, 2009, in Game 1 of the First Round against the defending champion Celtics in Boston, Rose put on a show for the ages in his playoff debut \u2013 finishing with 36 points and 11 assists to lead Chicago to a 105-103 win.<\/p>\n \u201cI just never in my life saw anyone that explosive,\u201d said then-Celtic (and future Bulls teammate) Brian Scalabrine. \u201cSo watching him, he\u2019s cooking us, and we\u2019re supposed to be a championship-level team. To show up in the Garden and do that, that\u2019s what legends are made of.\u201d<\/p>\n While Chicago lost that series in seven games, Rose and the Bulls had put the league on notice that a new contender was emerging in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n There would be no sophomore slump for Rose, who made the leap from Rookie of the Year in 2009 to NBA All-Star in 2010, while delivering another signature moment etched into the memories of Bulls fans around the world.<\/p>\n Derrick Rose talks about his most iconic dunk<\/p>\n That dunk over Goran Dragic in Phoenix on Jan. 22, 2010, was ready-made for NBA Twitter, becoming a viral moment with fans engaging with the game on their phones more and more.<\/p>\n \u201cI had never seen a point guard dunk on somebody like that,\u201d said teammate Joakim Noah.<\/p>\n Rose finished the season averaging 20.8 points, 6.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds, but the Bulls suffered a second straight first-round exit in the playoffs. That disappointment fueled Rose to take his game to new heights. And he was not shy about letting everyone know what was coming in Year 3.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy can\u2019t I be the MVP of the league? Why can\u2019t I be the best player in the league? I don\u2019t see why, why, why can\u2019t I do that?\u201d Rose said on Media Day when asked about his expectations entering the 2010-11 season. \u201cI think I work hard. I think I dedicate myself to the game, and sacrifice a lot of things at a young age. And I know that if I continue to do good, what I can get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rose called his shot. And then he went out on the court and backed it up.<\/p>\n He ranked in the top 10 in both scoring (career-high 25.0 points per game, seventh) and playmaking (then career-high 7.7 assists per game, 10th) while leading the Bulls to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The Bulls finished 62-20 \u2013 matching the record set 13 seasons prior by Chicago\u2019s Last Dance season in 1997-98 \u2013 and entered the playoffs as the East\u2019s No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n A historic award<\/p>\n On May 3, 2011, Rose made history, becoming the NBA\u2019s youngest Most Valuable Player at just 22 years old \u2013 a distinction previously held by Wes Unseld at 23 in 1969. Rose ran away with the award, earning 113 of the 120 first-place votes.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a competitor, at that time when he was ruling the East, I had nothing but respect and a humble fear going against D-Rose,\u201d said James, who won MVP honors the previous two (and next two) seasons. \u201cHis talent, his speed, his athleticism, his craftiness, his mind. There\u2019s no surprise why he was the youngest, and still is the youngest, MVP in NBA history. The guy was simply that great.\u201d<\/p>\n Derrick Rose becomes the NBA’s youngest MVP in 2011 and honors his mom with a moving speech<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Rose\u2019s Bulls met James and the new-look Miami Heat in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals \u2013 Chicago\u2019s deepest playoff run since their last championship in 1998. But Chicago\u2019s run ended in five games as the Heat advanced to the Finals, once again fueling Rose to return even better the following season.<\/p>\n Injury strikes, stalling the ascension<\/p>\n The 2011-12 season began with a Christmas Day game-winner from Rose as he once again led the Bulls to the top record in the East \u2014 50-16 in the lockout-shortened season, Chicago\u2019s top win percentage (.758) since the 1996-97 title run. Eager to make a championship run of their own, the Bulls entered the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers.<\/p>\n Then, disaster struck.<\/p>\n In the closing minutes of a Game 1 victory, Rose was lost for the remainder of the playoffs with a torn left ACL. It was a move he had executed countless times before \u2014 drive into the lane, jump-stop, and elevate. But this time, he came crashing down to the court in pain.<\/p>\n The injury not only ended Rose\u2019s season, it ended Chicago\u2019s championship hopes as the Bulls fell to Philly in six games. It set up a year of recovery for Rose and marked the beginning of a long-term battle with injuries that would impact the remainder of his career.<\/p>\n After missing the entire 2012-13 season, Rose returned to the court to start the 2013-14 season. But his comeback was quickly thwarted by another injury \u2014 a torn meniscus, this time in his right knee on Nov. 12, 2013, that would require season-ending surgery. Once again faced with a challenge, Rose worked his way back to the court to start the 2014-15 season.<\/p>\n Rose had been on a vicious cycle of injury and recovery for two-plus years, but had begun the 2014-15 season appearing in 46 of Chicago\u2019s first 57 games \u2014 averaging 18.4 points and 5.0 assists. Then, on Feb. 24, 2015, he was once again diagnosed with a torn right meniscus that would require surgery. It was the worst case of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the true measure of a man is how well you can handle adversity, and he showed what his character is all about,\u201d said then Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. \u201cHe\u2019s beloved.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Rather than wallow in despair, Rose did what he had always done \u2014 he got to work. Just six weeks after surgery, Rose returned for the Bulls on April 8, 2015, using the final five games of the regular season to gear up for another playoff run.<\/p>\n The return that beat the clock<\/p>\n On May 8, 2015, the stage was set for another iconic Rose moment. The Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Bulls and Cavs was tied at 1-1 and Game 3 in Chicago was tied at 96 with three seconds left.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Bulls had possession and everybody inside the United Center knew where the ball was going. Rose caught the inbounds pass on the move, took two dribbles and elevated for a pull-up 3-pointer that banked in as the buzzer sounded. The shot elicited a Mike Breen \u201cBang!\u201d on the broadcast and gave Chicago a 99-96 win.<\/p>\n Derrick Rose hits an instantly iconic buzzer beater in the 2015 playoffs.<\/p>\n Noah embraced Rose near the Bulls bench, lifting Rose into the air as his teammates rushed to surround him. While everyone in the building was going wild, Rose wore a stoic expression across his face \u2014 almost as if to say, \u201cOf course I made the shot. That\u2019s what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis comes with the territory of being a leader,\u201d said after the game. \u201cYou got to be able to take these shots. I feel very confident in my game and my ability to make shots.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the type of shot you dream of as a kid. For Rose, who grew up seeing Jordan ignite the United Center crowd with game-winning buckets, it was his turn to send his hometown fans into a frenzy, creating a core memory that will live forever.<\/p>\n Rose moved on, but a legacy remains<\/p>\n While the memories will last, Rose\u2019s time in Chicago did not. After falling in the East Semifinals in 2015, the Bulls did not make the playoffs in 2016. Following that season, Rose was traded to New York, as he played the latter half of his career with the Knicks, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Pistons, and Grizzlies \u2014 ending his career in the city where he played his college ball 16 years prior.<\/p>\n A few months after announcing his retirement on Sept. 26, 2024, the Bulls celebrated Derrick Rose Night at the United Center on Jan. 4, 2025. With many of his former teammates traveling to celebrate his career, the Bulls announced<\/a> that they would retire Rose\u2019s No. 1 jersey during the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n Rose\u2019s No. 1 will hang next to Jordan\u2019s No. 23, Pippen\u2019s No. 33, Bob Love\u2019s No. 5 and Jerry Sloan\u2019s No. 4, as Rose becomes only the fifth Bull honored with a jersey retirement.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still in a daze [about being told],\u201d Rose said after the announcement. \u201cBut it\u2019s not about that [honored next to Jordan and Pippen]. It\u2019s about me giving everybody that\u2019s in this room, everybody that was a part of the story, the journey, the good, the bad, the ugly, celebrating everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand coming from Chicago that it\u2019s tough love. I had expectations on me ever since I was younger; sixth grade, everybody said I was going to the league. Ever since then, to live up to those expectations and to not feel like they were a burden at the time, I felt like they were all challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the Bulls legends that Rose will join on Saturday, he is the only one from Chicago \u2014 the hometown kid earning one of the game\u2019s top honors.<\/p>\n \u201cChicago, of all places, you know the history of this place, the pain of this place, the love in this place, the passion for their sports \u2014 like Chicago, it\u2019s different,\u201d said Noah. \u201cAnd the way that Derrick was able to represent that, I think a lot of people gravitated [to] and respected that.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-23-at-9.09.19-PM.png\")
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