Derrick Rose Retiring After 16 Seasons

Derrick Rose Retiring After 16 Seasons

It is a bittersweet day for NBA fans. This morning, former league MVP Derrick Rose announced via social media that he is retiring from the NBA. On top of that, he took out a full-page ad in the local newspaper of every city he played in: Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. In these ads, he thanked each fan base, the guy is an absolute class act. 

In a statement to ESPN, Rose said, “Knowing that I gave my all to the game, I feel confident in my decision…basketball was just the beginning for me. Now, it’s important that I give my all to my family — they deserve that.”

Rose still had one year left on his contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, but the team ended up granting Rose’s wish, waiving that final year, and buying him out.

Derrick Rose, who is from southside Chicago, was drafted by his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls, with the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He was the 2008-2009 ROY and an all-star in three of his first four seasons. His biggest accomplishment has to be when we won the 2010-11 league MVP. He was, and still is, the youngest player to ever win the award.

Good things don’t last, though, as Rose’s career took a very different path than people thought it would after tearing his ACL in the 2012 playoffs. After that, he was never the same player, and Chicago traded him to the Knicks in the 2016 offseason. After that, he bounced around to several different teams and was constantly riddled with injuries.

It is sad to see Derrick Rose go, but we all knew it was time for him to hang up the shoes. We can only speculate what he might have accomplished if not for that ACL tear. I think his career will be remembered in the phrase “what could have been.”

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