Derrick Rose has officially retired from the NBA. The former No. 1 overall pick took the league by storm as a young player, winning rookie of the year in 2008-09 and then the NBA MVP award in 2010-11 with the Chicago Bulls. Rose made three All-Star teams in his first four seasons, and looked like he was on his way to being one of the great point guards of his era, bringing a unique .
Unfortunately, a torn ACL suffered in 2012 became a harbinger of things to come. Rose struggled with knee issues and injury setbacks throughout his career, only playing more than 60 games in a season twice in the final 13 years of his career. Rose won his MVP averaging 25 points and 7.7 assists and producing some of the most breathtakingly athletic feats ever seen by a point guard, but that explosiveness and power was only able to be seen in flashes after his 2012 knee injury. Rose would play just eight years in Chicago before bouncing around the league with the Knicks, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Pistons, Knicks (again), and Grizzlies — twice reuniting with former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota and New York.
This offseason, Rose was released by Memphis and on Wednesday night, he posted a rather cryptic video on Instagram that seemed to indicate he was calling it a career.
On Thursday morning, Rose confirmed that was indeed a tease of his retirement, taking out a full page ad in numerous newspapers thanking fans and issuing a statement to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“The next chapter is about chasing my dreams and sharing my growth. I believe true success comes from becoming who you were created to be, and I want to show the world who I am beyond basketball. Whether good or bad, everyone has a ‘what if’ story in their life. Even if I could, I wouldn’t change anything in mine, because it’s what helped me find real joy.”
In his statement, Rose talks about “what if” stories, and the most obvious one is his health — fans love to talk about what could’ve been in Chicago if Rose never tore up his knee. The other major “what if” for Rose happened off the court in 2015-16 when he was sued by an ex-girlfriend who claimed he and friends raped her. Rose was found not liable in the case by a Los Angeles jury, but testimony from the trial made Rose a divisive and controversial figure.
Rose says he wouldn’t change anything that’s happened as it’s led him to this place where he says he’s happy and content. Rose retires having averaged 17.4 points and 5.2 assists per game over 723 games played, which undersells his magnetism and dominance early in his career, but also highlights how successful he was transitioning into a 6th man role later in his career when he was able to be on the court.