The career of former NBA MVP Derrick Rose is now over. He announced his retirement today after a 16-year career. One of Chicago’s favorite sons, Rose cemented himself as one of the NBA’s most athletic and explosive guards ever. At this point, the argument usually lays between him and Russell Westbrook for that title. Rose was considered the new hope for Chicago after being drafted in 2008. There has long been a stead of success in Chicago since Michael Jordan’s second retirement after the 1998 season. Rose was to be the second coming, and he tried his damndest.
I vividly remember watching a raucous seven-game series between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics in 2009. I was a junior in college, and each game was a must-see. On the Bulls’ side, it was all about Ben Gordon, and Derrick Rose. They also had some big shot-making from Kirk Hinrich. The series was so electric that you couldn’t miss a game. I remember having to go to Olive Garden on Long Island for a classmate’s birthday during game seven. None of the fellas predicted that the series would last that damn long. For the first time, I listened to a game on the radio. We packed in a Ford Taurus and imagined we were watching the whole thing unfold on the way to those breadsticks.
That was the feeling Derrick Rose restored in Chicago and the NBA at large. We cared about the Bulls again. And with the pressure that his athleticism put on defenses, it was a matter of time before we saw the Bulls have serious playoff success. In Rose’s third season in the league, he earned MVP honors, becoming the league’s youngest MVP. As he rode high going into that summer, he unfortunately suffered his first of many knee injuries the next year.
Rose tore his ACL during the 2012 playoffs, and it was the first sign of concern for his career. With hindsight being 20/20, those concerns were well founded. With each subsequent injury, more athleticism waned. It’s a tough adjustment to make. And in some respects, this period of his career was about growth and transition.
Once Rose got his body right, he enjoyed several fairly healthy seasons, but his time in Chicago came to an end. He was traded to the New York Knicks in 2016 after eight years in The Chi. He unfortunately came with some baggage as he was working through a trial regarding a sexual abuse case. Rose and his cohorts were found not liable. But I do believe that this ordeal served as a wakeup call for him. From that point, I saw a change in how he went about mentoring younger players.
That attitude carried through to two stints in New York. Not to mention, a career that ended in Memphis. How poetic, that he served as a voice of counsel for a young, up-and-coming Ja Morant. It’s kismet if you ask me. When I look back at Rose’s career, I can’t help but think about what could’ve been. We’ve all seen that movie before as sports fans. But I think his legacy stretches beyond his immense talent. We got to witness a boy become a man and grow into a positive example for younger players. In his own way, he left the game better than how he found it. Ultimately, that’s exactly how you want to write a career.
