What Derrick Rose meant for Chicago basketball fans
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Derrick Rose poses for a portrait during the 2008 NBA Rookie of the Year photoshoot. Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Chicago native Derrick Rose announced his retirement from the NBA on Thursday, ending one of the biggest chapters in local sports history.
Why it matters: D. Rose is one of the rare athletes who both grew up in Chicago and played for the town's professional sports team.
The big picture: Chicagoans have watched Rose play basketball since he led Simeon High School to state championships in 2006 and 2007.
- Rose, who grew up in Englewood, personified Chicago's toughness, using his explosive play and the chip on his shoulder to compete against giants of the game, like LeBron James.
Flashback: After Simeon, Rose spent one year at the University of Memphis. The Bulls used a lucky Ping-Pong ball bounce to secure the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, which they used to select the hometown hero.
- Rose quickly turned heads with his aggressive play and his acrobatic skillset that electrified Chicago sports fans.
Stunning stats: The South-Sider is in rarified air, winning Rookie of the Year and then two seasons later, the Most Valuable Player award. The only other Chicago players to do that? Michael Jordan and Candace Parker (WNBA).
- Rose is still the youngest player in NBA history to win MVP. He was 22.
The intrigue: Rose made the Bulls perennial championship contenders. But after securing the No. 1 seed in the 2012 playoffs, Rose suffered a massive knee injury.
- For the next 12 months, fans obsessed over Rose's recovery. Adidas even produced a series of ads featuring Rose rehabbing with the tagline "The Return."
Yes, but: The campaign for Rose's return backfired when he suffered complications from the injury. He never recaptured his success, and fans lost patience.
- He was traded to New York in 2016 and bounced around teams since then, most recently playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Between the lines: Rose's injuries were accompanied by a sour relationship with Bulls management. The enigmatic superstar also seemed at odds with the media, shying away from postgame interviews and press conferences.
- This relentless drama led to fans cheering the end of Rose's era in Chicago.
The other side: Rose didn't have a squeaky-clean persona, either. The NCAA vacated Memphis' 2007-08 season for Rose allegedly having someone else take his SAT to get into college.
- Rose denied the accusations but did not cooperate with the investigation.
- In 2016, he was accused of sexual assault from an incident that happened while he was on the Bulls. He was found not liable in the civil suit.
What they're saying: Rose penned an open letter to the cities he played in, ending it with "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."
The bottom line: Rose is a bittersweet, tragic story for Chicago. He created so much civic pride in his short career here, but he was also vilified for not sustaining it.