The legacy of Chicago sports legend Derrick Rose will forever be remembered. After growing up in Englewood, a neighborhood of Chicago, Derrick Rose beat the odds to put together an impressive basketball career.
Rose’s journey began when he attended Simeon High School in the South Side of Chicago. To compliment his elite finishing ability, Rose had a high level of athleticism and an exceptional basketball IQ. Due to being the complete package, Rose led Simeon to State Championships in ‘06 and ‘07.
Rose took his career to the next level at the University of Memphis where he led the team to a 38-2 record his freshman season, the most wins in a single men’s NCAA basketball season. Not only that, Memphis also made an appearance in the National Championship game that same year.
After getting drafted in 2008, many say he was one of the best to ever play for the Bulls. By drafting Rose, the Bulls hoped to improve their team dynamic after going 33-49 the year before.
Upon his arrival, Rose did just that. In his rookie season, he led the Bulls to a 41-41 record, but fell short to an impressive Celtics team in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Rose was awarded the Rookie of the Year that season. Chicago made the playoffs again in 2010, but were repeated first round exits losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But in his third NBA season, Rose led the Bulls to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance before being stopped by a strong Miami Heat team.
Because of his immaculate season, Rose was given the Most Valuable Player award, the highest and most respected single season award a player can receive. But what was shaping up to be an outstanding career was plagued with multiple devastating injuries. After being sidelined for the entirety of the 2012-13 season, Rose never was the same. He would continue to deal with detrimental injuries throughout his career with the Bulls.
This heartbreaking news resulted in shock and disbelief for every Bulls fan. What seemed like a constant pattern of unfortunate injuries turned Rose’s career down a negative path.
The buildup of all these injuries resulted in Rose never being able to get back to his original self. No matter how hard he worked to stay healthy, Rose could never get back to looking like the young star he once was.
The Bulls and Rose split ways after seven seasons (2008-2016), resulting in him bouncing around from team to team for the remainder of his career. Rose played two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2017-2019), one season with the Detroit Pistons (2019-2020), four seasons with the New York Knicks (2016-2017, 2020-2023) and one last season with the Memphis Grizzlies (2023-2024). Even though he might not have ever gotten back to the MVP form he once was, Rose helped those teams grow with his knowledge, experience, and work ethic.
Rose left his mark on the basketball community, and will forever be remembered as an all time Chicago great. His raw talent and what later became outstanding leadership doesn’t get enough recognition. Rose gave young basketball players something to look up to, and showed that getting knocked down should never prevent you from following your dreams.
