It was a touching scene in Chicago tonight as the Bulls honored their legend, Derrick Rose, with a touching tribute before their game. In the aftermath of a glorious tribute, and loud cheers from the crowd, Rose addressed Bulls Nation to make a statement from his heart on this special night.
“At the beginning of the video, I mentioned to PJ, ‘Do you want to be good or great?’ Well, he doesn’t know that that that’s my way of tricking him… I could say ‘Do you want to be good in basketball or do you want to be great in basketball?’ But I’m gonna make it broad. I’m gonna make it broad so that when he says ‘great’ I can hold you accountable for everything in your life I see you not being great at,” said Rose. “That’s the same thing he passed on to his siblings and that’s a joke we have in the house. If they see me lacking in something, they say ‘Dad do you want to be good or great?’ And they make me remember I’m trying to be great!”
“Being great sometimes, you’re gonna be disliked. You have to show courage through that I’m confident in my choice,” Rose continued. “I’m confident that I will make it. I want to be great. You want to be great. So thank you, Chicago, for forcing me to be great and putting those expectations on me. I was trying to be great too and I just didn’t know that the environment I was in was forcing me to. So thank you to everybody that watched me since I was in sixth grade, seventh, grade, eighth grade, injuries, MVP, playoff losses, playoff wins… thank you.”
Rose, who recently announced his retirement from the NBA, made his speech at the end of an iconic tribute, which included guest appearances from several of Rose’s teammates. His family was also in attendance, including his three kids, London, Layla, and PJ, who sat courtside to witness the epic moment.
Despite playing just seven years with the Bulls, and winning no championships, Rose is a franchise legend and his legacy will be celebrated by Bulls fans forever. In seven years with the franchise, he averaged 19.7 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game on 44.8% shooting.
After being drafted 1st overall in 2008, Rose began his ascent right away and quickly rose to fame playing for his hometown team. In 2011, he became the youngest MVP in NBA history and led his team to the East semi-finals before losing to LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
Sadly, injuries de-railed Derrick’s career and we were robbed of getting to see him in his prime. But even after his game began to decline, Rose contributed in other ways through charities and other efforts to improve the city and the quality of life for its people.
Over the years, Rose became such an icon in Chicago that even after he left the Bulls, the city continued to treat him like one of their own and root for his continued success. Today, now that he’s retired, the Bulls are giving him the full MVP treatment with a tribute and also a jersey retirement ceremony which will happen next year.
While it’s not the career that anyone expected for Derrick Rose, it’s an overall happy ending to what could have been a very tragic story. While Rose was never able to sustain his excellence on the basketball court, he’s still loved and embraced by the fans who support him to this day.
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