For 'Derrick Rose Night' in Chicago, peers fondly remember former NBA MVP's career

Ask Stacey King his memories of Derrick Rose, and before the affable Chicago Bulls color commentator mentions any highlight plays, there is reverence.

“If he never goes down, he retires a Bull,” King said, referring to Rose’s string of injuries throughout his career. “If he stays healthy and on the trajectory he was going on, he’s Michael Jordan.”

King, a rugged role player from the Bulls’ first three-peat in the early 1990s, had a front-row seat to virtually all of Rose’s 406 game appearances in a Bulls uniform. He grows just as animated talking about the former MVP today as he did when Rose famously dunked over Goran Dragić in Phoenix.

But the spectacular memories from Rose — in King’s view and so many others — didn’t just take place on the court. Franchises like the Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies flourished with Rose serving as a culture setter. Rose left his fingerprints everywhere he went as a mentor to younger teammates. He dazzled not only with how he orchestrated the pick-and-roll but also how he operated with humility, despite living in a fishbowl every day as a megastar.

For all of those reasons and more, the Bulls will hold “Derrick Rose Night” against the Knicks on Saturday. Throughout the game, the Bulls will honor Rose with moments celebrating his retirement from the NBA, his family and his Bulls teammates — many of whom will be in attendance. King is scheduled to emcee the halftime ceremony.

“That kid was not only a special player, but he was a special person,” King said. “People who don’t know him might think something differently. But I guarantee you this: If you ask anybody that knows him or played with him, they’ll never have a bad word to say about him. That’s rare for a superstar.”


Born and raised in Chicago, Rose played seven seasons with the hometown Bulls. (Kent Smith / NBAE via Getty Images)

The Athletic interviewed nearly a dozen people who Rose worked with — and against — in search for stories that epitomized him as a person and player. As it turned out, King was right. No one had a bad word to say about the one from the south side of Chicago. These stories, in their own words, paint a clear picture of Rose, what he meant to the city of Chicago, the Bulls and the NBA at large.

“If they don’t put him in the Hall of Fame, it’s an injustice,” King said. “When he was healthy, there was nothing like him.”

Doc Rivers | Milwaukee Bucks coach: 2024-present | Chicago native

I just wanted to kick his butt in the (Boston-Chicago) playoffs. Like, not (just) beat him. I wanted to beat him up so he couldn’t play anymore. I mean, he was so good.

My first memory of Derrick Rose is more as a ghost. My brother, who goes to every Proviso East High School game, kept talking about this guy Derrick Rose. I think they (Rose and Simeon Career Academy) played Proviso East in, I guess it would be, a super-sectional game. Both teams were undefeated, like 30-0 and 31-0. It came down to the wire, and unfortunately, Rose’s team won.

I remember (my brother) coming home, calling me about the game. He said it’s one of the greatest high school games he’s ever seen, and this kid Derrick Rose, he just could not stop talking about him. He said he’s a sure pro. Then he goes to Memphis, and you see what everybody saw when he came into the NBA.

I thought his MVP year, from a small guard perspective, was the most dominating small guard year in the history of the NBA. I mean, that was awesome to watch. I remember the one game against Miami where it looked like he took their soul away. It was just awesome from a fan perspective to watch it.

Zach LaVine | Chicago Bulls guard: 2017-present | 2-time All-Star

My first game in the NBA (in 2014), we played the Chicago Bulls. I think it was in Iowa. You guys know me: I thought I was the fastest, highest-jumping guy, and I just remember watching the first two quarters because I didn’t play the first two quarters. I’m, like, “Man, this dude is just so explosive.” And I’m saying, “He’s fast as hell.”

Once I get on the court with him, I’m playing point guard at the time, and (former Minnesota Timberwolves coach) Flip Saunders is, like, “Zach, you pick him up full court.” Obviously I know Derrick Rose, and this is after he came off his ACL. He comes off a pick-and-roll, and the ball gets tipped out. It was a bad pass. He gets the ball at half court. There’s, like, three seconds on the shot clock, so I’m thinking he’s just about to hoist it up or whatever. He gets to the lane — that fast (snaps finger). The shot clock didn’t even go off. He just caught it (snaps finger), two dribbles, layup. And I’m just stuck.

That was my first experience, and I’m, like, “Oh, this guy is different, even from my athleticism.”


Rose (25) and Zach LaVine have played against each other multiple times. Both spent time with the Bulls and the Timberwolves. This picture was from 2018. (Jesse Johnson / USA Today)

And then, my second year, we ended up winning this game, but he damn near put me on my ass. He came off the pick-and-roll and did, like, a snatch-back behind the back. It was one of my worst (moments). I’m on the ball, and I just ran out the picture. I almost fell. Taj (Gibson) ended up dunking it.

He was just so explosive and strong, man. He really revolutionized guard play at that position for being a supreme athlete with the quickness and the handles and the vertical ability. But also, coming from where he came from and the toughness that he brought playing for the city I think was incredible.

Stacey King | Bulls color commentator: 2008-present | 3-time NBA champion (Bulls)

One of the things that really stood out to me about Derrick is how much love he had for his teammates. During that free-agent run where you had LeBron (James) and (Chris) Bosh and Dwyane Wade, they were all being recruited to play here (in Chicago). They were on this tour basically, and everybody came down hard on Derrick that he didn’t do enough to recruit those guys. He didn’t go out there and meet them at the airport.

Derrick had a love for the Keith Bogans of this team, the Carlos Boozers of this team, the guys he went to war with during that time. There was a loyalty to those guys. Any other superstar would say, “Whatever it takes for me to get LeBron James!’ He said, “I want those guys here; if they want to be here, come here. We’ve got something special being built here, but I’m not going to sing and dance for them, because I believe in the guys I’ve got here.” And people vilified him for that.

But that’s not who Derrick is. He’s a selfless guy. He’s a guy that really, genuinely cares about the city of Chicago. He cared about this organization. He put this city on his back his whole career here.

And because he didn’t go out and openly recruit those guys and beg them to come play here, it looked like he didn’t want to play with those guys. You saw him at the (2012) All-Star game. Remember the All-Star game where they were all singing and dancing? Dwight Howard, LeBron (James), all of them, were acting like they were at a discotheque. And Derrick Rose just stood there. When they called his name, he just waved. That’s who Derrick Rose is. He’s not going to sing or dance. He ain’t gonna clown. You watch him, he plays with emotion, but not over-the-top emotion. You know he’s good; he doesn’t have to tell you that he’s good.

For people who don’t know Derrick, that showed that Derrick was not like all these other dudes. He wasn’t about self-promoting. If he was, people would look at him totally different.

Tom Thibodeau | Former Bulls, Timberwolves, current Knicks coach | 2-time NBA Coach of the Year

His numbers say what he did was incredible. He had an unbelievable career, and he handled everything that came his way, whether he was a 22-year-old MVP or going through injuries or coming back at the end of his career and coming off the bench. Whatever role, he excelled in his role. He was the ultimate teammate and, obviously, a great player.

I could always recall looking into the eyes of the opponent when he had the ball. You could see the fear. To me, there’s no question he’s a Hall of Fame player.

But the thing that I loved about him the most probably was his humility. It’s rare when a player of his ability has the humility that he does. He’s an unbelievable person. And then to persevere … they say the true measure of a man is how he handles himself through adversity, to go through the injuries the way he did and always come back, never stay down and be a great teammate. He loved his teammates. You can’t find one teammate who didn’t love playing with him.

Brian Scalabrine | Bulls teammate: 2010-12 | 2008 NBA champion (Boston Celtics)

In general, it’s always going to be an interaction, a personal moment. Thibodeau put me in the game to get a stop, and we got a stop. He made a nice play at the rim, and he kicked it out to me — and I shorted it. We missed a 3. We lost the game. He got destroyed by people saying, “Why would you pass to Scalabrine? You’re the best player. You have to score it.” I’m not really affected by that type of stuff, but I could see how some people could be.

He came to me, and he didn’t have to do this … I did a radio interview, and I was, like, “I feel like I let him down.” To get a star player to trust you, you’ve got to knock those shots down. It’s like the growth of Derrick Rose is predicated on trust. When he learns to trust everybody, he’s going to be unstoppable, because he could do everything with the ball. But for him to be MVP year after year and for us to win championships, he has to dominate at the rim. He has to make people better, whatever. I feel like I let him down. He came up to me after, like, “Listen, dude, if I made that play, 10 times out of 10 I’m throwing you the ball. I’m trusting you to make it.” He didn’t have to do that, but for him to do that — he’s young at the time, 23 years old — he’s showing incredible leadership.

If he’s doing that with me, he’s doing that with everybody else on the team, too. That goes a long way. That was, like, “Man, that’s a real dude right there.”

Taj Gibson | Bulls, Timberwolves, Knicks teammate | Appeared in 458 games with Rose

Just look at the tape, and it’ll show you. A good coach always said, “Whenever you do something good, take your teammates along with you.” Throughout his career, he was exactly what coach said. Every time he did something good, he brought at least one of us along with him. That was not just in that moment, but throughout his career. I played with Derrick damn near my whole career, and I would be one of the biggest beneficiaries to come from playing with him. He did a lot for my career as far as just being there for me on and off the court.


Rose and Taj Gibson worked well together for the Bulls during the 2015-16 season. (Dennis Wierzbicki / USA Today)

It’s just so many countless stories. In the moment, he’s not really a talkative guy, but his actions speak more than everything. But if you look at him now, he’s very outspoken now. He’s grown into a strong man.

He went through a lot. I remember a lot of times, you would see young players crying over their careers, really passionate about their careers. He’s one of them. This is a testament to striving for greatness and not being willing to take no for an answer. He just kept (coming) and kept staying consistent. And this (honor) shows that people care. If you go out there and you fight hard, and you really believe in the right things in this game, you’re always going to get your flowers.

Bobby Portis | Bulls teammate: 2015-16 season | 2021 NBA champion (Milwaukee Bucks)

I played with him one season, my rookie year. It was crazy. Right before I got drafted, I actually came to a Bulls game; it was Game 3 of the second round against the (Cleveland) Cavs. My agent had tickets to the game and was courtside, right by the visitors’ bench. He gave me tickets, and that game, D. Rose ended up hitting a buzzer-beater off the glass. Then a month later, I get drafted to the Bulls. It was fun to actually play with an MVP.

I played with a lot of great vets that helped me stay the course in my career. He used to always tell me, “Stay ready. Things happen in the league. Guys get hurt. You never know when your number’s going to get called.” I just remember him and Taj always saying that, and that was instilled in me; I pass it on to my younger guys now. When you’re a young rookie, you hear these sayings: “Stay ready,” this and that, and once you grow up and become that guy, then you pass on the knowledge that they passed to you. It’s so much that I could speak on, but that was the biggest thing. As a rookie, you might not play. You might go through lapses where you get DNPs (did not play, coach’s decision). I’ve been playing and being a star player my whole life … and you get DNPs. And he’d say, “Stay ready. You’ve got to do conditioning after (practice). You’ve got to do things that you don’t want to do.”

But when I look back on it, you cherish those moments. That made me who I am now, just being able to stay ready, being able to go through certain things in my career. It kind of molded me into the player I am. I’m grateful for good vets like D. Rose that told me stay ready. I could have fell off and went either way, but that right there, that always stayed with me. No matter if I play a lot, if I don’t play, whatever it is, especially early on in my career, just stay ready. Stay in the gym. Keep my game tight. At some point, it’s going to come around, and I’ve got to be ready for it.

Damian Lillard | Bucks guard: 2024-present | 2013 Rookie of the Year and 8-time All-Star

I always looked at D. Rose as someone who, out of all the stars in the NBA before I was in the NBA, he was the type of person that would be in my circle of people that I grew up and ran with. I always looked at him like he was that star because he was always humble. You could tell he came from something. You could tell his background was like how my background is — and he wasn’t loud. He was quiet, but you could tell he had “it” about him.

That’s the context of my favorite moment, which was at the (2012) All-Star Game. He was an All-Star starter. They introduced all the starters, and they all came up on stage and they were dancing and doing all that stuff. And he just kind of walked up and was, like, “That ain’t me. I’m not about to be a follower and do what everybody else is doing.” He just did him. I recognized the behavior.


Rose and Damian Lillard are similar in letting actions speak louder than their words, Lillard said. (Steve Dykes / Associated Press)

As solid as I always thought he was even from afar, just seeing something like that, it just reassured me that you could be a superstar and you ain’t got to get on the train and do what everybody else is doing. You can do you, and a lot of people love him for that. Even if people don’t talk about him, and if he doesn’t buy into the superstar (role) of “You’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that,” I respect him for the way he did it. That’s a moment that always stuck out to me.

Taylor Jenkins | Memphis Grizzlies coach: 2019-present | Winningest coach in Grizzlies history

It was a short amount of time with Derrick, but a lasting impact. I was so fortunate to be able to work with him at the end of his career. The relationship that we built, getting to know him and his family … I mean, he’s a stud player. He’s a stud human being. The amount that he gave back to his teammates and wanted to kind of pave the way for the next generation, the type of conversations he had with guys, myself included, not just about basketball but about life … I got to learn a lot about his journey. What a stellar NBA career he had on and off the floor.

The amount of growth, the amount of success that he had … and he’s super humble. That’s probably the thing that really came across. As a superstar who walked into any gym, he’s walking by fans, and everyone’s yelling, “D. Rose! D. Rose!” There wasn’t a fan that he was going to pass up. He was going to give them every moment, time of the day, to interact. That’s how he was with us for just one season in Memphis. Being in the locker room, being on the plane, on the court, just pulling guys aside and just having a smile on his face and giving back and thinking of himself as just one of the guys and nothing more than that.

Knowing how much notoriety and stardom that he’s had in his career, I’m so excited to see what he has post-playing career. Obviously, the advertisement and thank-you letters he put out in all the markets he played was so special, and that’s exactly who he is. He’s got the biggest heart, and now he’s pouring into his family. I know he’s super excited, especially with his kids and his wife. I can’t wait to continue to stay connected with him in his post-playing career.

— James L. Edwards III contributed to this report.

(Top photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)



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