A Rookie of the Year award, All-Star appearances, an All-NBA First Team honour and an MVP award are all on Derrick Rose's list of accomplishments. Could a jersey in the rafters of the United Centre be the next one added to the list?
Rose said he "would love" to have his No. 1 jersey retired by the Chicago Bulls in an interview with ESPN's Shams Charania on Friday.
"The jersey thing, I mean, the jersey being retired, I would love that," said Rose.
The Chicago native played his first seven seasons with the Bulls, where he averaged 19.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds. Chicago also reached the playoffs in each of his first four seasons.
Rose's Bulls career peaked in 2010-11 when he scored 25.0 points per game, along with 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds, and became the youngest MVP in NBA history at 22.
Based on his resume with the team, former Bulls teammate Taj Gibson reportedly believes that Rose deserves to have a statue built in his honour.
Rose, on the other hand, isn't so sure.
"A statue, the way people (have) been creating these statues, no. I would not want no statue," said Rose. "No statue. Jerry, no statue. Please, Michael, no statue."
It stands to reason that Rose is alluding to the unaesthetic statue of Dwyane Wade that the Miami Heat unveiled earlier this season. His pleas are directed at Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and CEO Michael Reinsdorf.
The 36-year-old sustained numerous impactful injuries throughout his career, including an ACL tear that sidelined him for the entire 2012-13 season. He never returned to his MVP form, and was traded to the New York Knicks in 2016.
The six-foot-three guard went on to play a total of 15 seasons in the association, also suiting up for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies before announcing his retirement in September 2024.
The Bulls host the Knicks on Saturday and have declared the game "Derrick Rose Night." Players on both teams will wear shooting shirts during warmups featuring "1.4.25" across the front — both the date of the game and the numbers Rose wore as a Bull, a Knick and as a high school player in Chicago.
Chicago has retired only four players' numbers in its history: Jerry Sloan (4), Bob Love (10), Michael Jordan (23) and, most recently, Scottie Pippen (33) in 2005.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.