Draymond Green recently recorded an episode of his podcast ‘The Draymond Green Show’ where he addressed several viral trends in the NBA across the last week. He brought up Derrick Rose’s recent jersey retirement with the Chicago Bulls and made a bold claim about Michael Jordan.
“And shout out to D Rose having his number one retired in Chicago by the Bulls. Well deserved, you know what D Rose means to the city of Chicago. Not ‘meant,’ means to the city of Chicago.”
“Like, there’s not one bigger person in the city of Chicago than Derrick Rose. Make no mistake about it. You heard what I said. There is not one bigger person who means more to the city of Chicago than Derrick Rose. D Rose is everything to the city of Chicago.”
“And listen, with all due respect to MJ, I love MJ. We all wanted to be like Mike. Still love Mike. Mike doesn’t mean more to the city of Chicago than Derrick Rose. That’s just facts.”
“Derrick Rose stops everything. Derrick Rose stops crime. Like, D Rose can walk around Chicago, no problem. What he means to the city of Chicago is unbelievable.”
“And to get his jersey retired is well deserved. Obviously, we know what happened with the injuries and stuff that took D Rose off the path that he was on.”
“But man, the youngest MVP in league history right in the Chicago Bulls jersey when the Chicago Bulls were struggling for years after Mike, Derrick Rose came and saved the franchise. D Rose did that, you know. So, man, it was an honor to play against D Rose.”
This is not a shot at Michael Jordan. Jordan’s contributions to the Bulls were definitely a lot more as he gave most of his career to them and brought six championships to the franchise, alongside multiple individual accolades. However, this debate is not about the numbers and statistics.
What Derrick Rose represents for the city is a lot closer to the hearts of the basketball fans in Chicago. Rose was born and brought up in Chicago, making him their own local hero. Meanwhile, Jordan even today resonates and associates with North Carolina, his home state, a lot more than he does with Chicago.
Jordan himself sent a special message to Rose when the Bulls announced his jersey retirement. As a former No. 1 overall pick, Rose became the youngest player to win the regular season MVP award in the NBA’s history.
What he represents is the true heart of the city, and the way he gave hope to the city nearly a decade after Jordan retired will forever enshrine him as a legend in the city of Chicago’s history books.
Therefore, I agree with Draymond Green when he says Rose is bigger than Jordan in Chicago solely due to what he means to the people there. Do you agree? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
