On September 26th, 2024, three time NBA all star Derrick Rose announced his decision to retire once and for all from the game of basketball via social media. This statement marked an end to the 16 year career of one of the most influential basketball players of the 21st century. In his announcement, Derrick Rose wrote out a deeply emotional letter to the game that has always been a part of his life, titled, “Thank You, My First Love…”
“You believed in me through the highs and lows, my constant when everything else seemed uncertain. You showed me what love truly meant… You gave me a gift, our time together, one that I will cherish for the rest of my days,” Rose wrote. He received overwhelming support on his announcement from both fellow professionals and fans that were positively impacted by his career. The post has received 1,037,703 likes and 32,846 comments as of October 7th 2024. Kevin Durant, a former MVP in his own right, expressed his gratitude for Rose, commenting, “One of the greatest to ever grace a court. Thank you for sharing your gifts to the world, can’t wait to see what [you] got next.”
During the 2007-2008 college basketball season, Rose had a standout freshman campaign at Memphis. He was one of the biggest reasons why the Tigers won 38 games while coming away with only two losses, with one of these games being against the Kansas Jayhawks in the national title game. Following this impressive year of performances, Rose was unsurprisingly selected with the first pick in the 2008 NBA draft by his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls. In his first season in the NBA, Rose made an immediate impact, winning Rookie of the year honors while averaging 16.8 points and 6.3 assists per game. Rose took another big step forward during his sophomore season, securing his first all star selection while improving his points per game average up to 20.8.
Just about 14 years ago, going into his third season in the NBA in 2010, 21 year old Derrick Rose was asked about his expectations for the season by a reporter during his team’s media day. The way he responded was far from what reporters expected. “It’s high,” he said, with a completely straight face. “The way I look at it within myself, why can’t I be the MVP of the league? Why can’t I be the best player in the league? Why can’t I do that? I work hard.” This response was looked at as almost audacious, as Rose had only just become an all star, and by a slim margin at that. He hadn’t won an All-NBA award in either of his previous two seasons, and he had never received a single MVP vote. Along with this, the team that he played for, the Chicago Bulls, was mediocre in every way possible, as they had finished the 2009-2010 season with 41 wins and 41 losses. This would also be a tough barrier for Rose to overcome, seeing as team success is a major factor when it comes to the MVP award. It is very common that the best player on the best team ends up coming away with the trophy, and Rose would have to take this team a long way in just a short amount of time in order to make this possible.
What followed in that season was a display of talent that had never been seen by a player so young, and one that we haven’t seen since. Rose would go on to average 25.0 points and 7.7 assists, along with leading the Chicago Bulls to a 21 win improvement from the previous year and the best record in the NBA, with 62 wins and only 20 losses. This was enough for Rose to win the MVP award over future hall of fame talents like Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant. Rose was a man of his word, and that very season, he became the youngest player to win the Most Valuable Player award, a title he still holds to this day.
Rose would ultimately suffer a torn ACL in his left knee in the first round of the playoffs the very next season, and he would unfortunately never be the same player afterwards. He required surgery, and would end up missing the entire 2012-13 NBA season. Despite his incredible athleticism never returning to the way it was, this didn’t stop Rose from playing in the league for another 11 years, a sign of his resilience, strength, grit, and perseverance. To this day, Rose’s influential play style has rubbed off on a new era of hoopers, such as Ja Morant and John Wall, and everyone who was fortunate enough to witness his greatness on the court will cherish those memories forever.
Rose closed out his retirement letter to the game that had been part of his life for decades, writing, “You told me it’s okay to say goodbye, reassuring me that you’ll always be a part of me, no matter where life takes me.”