The Chicago Bulls will honor the franchise's best player of the 21st century by sending Derrick Rose's No. 1 jersey to the United Center rafters on Jan. 24. Rose will be the fifth player in Bulls history to have his number retired, joining Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Sloan and Bob Love.
The ceremony, which will take place after the team hosts the 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics, is the latest show of admiration for the Chicago native. The organization celebrated his career last January, as well, after he announced his official retirement.
Jan. 4 is now known as "Derrick Rose Day" in the Windy City.
Chicago Bulls will retire Derrick Rose's No. 1 jersey on January 24th
Rose was the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft after spending one season at the University of Memphis, where he led the Tigers to the National Championship game.
He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in a landslide after averaging 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists in his debut campaign. He earned 111 first-place votes. O.J. Mayo was second with five.
Rose was named an all-star in his second season and became the youngest Most Valuable Player in NBA history in his third after posting averages of 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists. The Bulls went a league-best 62-20 that year and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat.
They haven't made it past the second round since.
Rose tore his ACL 39 games into the 2011-12 season and dealt with subsequent knee issues the rest of his career, never regaining the unbelievable explosiveness that made him such a dominant guard.
He spent eight seasons in Chicago in total, scoring 19.7 points per game across 406 contests. He made three all-star teams, won the aforementioned MVP and was a member of the All-NBA First Team that same season. He went on to play for the New York Knicks (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies.