CHICAGO — Derrick Rose has always drawn a full house. In his high school days, fans waited on cold South Side streets to get into his games. As the gyms got bigger, so did the crowds.
On Saturday night, fans lined Madison Street outside the United Center to get into the arena when the doors opened at 5 p.m. for his jersey retirement, which was scheduled for after the evening’s game against the Boston Celtics. Merchandise stands and team stores, which were selling new Rose-branded gear, were at capacity 90 minutes or so before the tip was scheduled.
Rose’s pregame news conference even required an RSVP and a wristband.
In another middling season for the Bulls, he gave everyone a reason to brave the cold and snow to come out to the West Side.
“I’m still trying to take it in. I’m trying to process in real time,” Rose said of the moment. “And just feeling grateful, knowing that the weather conditions out there, knowing that it’s a Chicago thing to even show up here to fight through that and still go to an event.”
Rose would have been loved in any market for how he played and what he accomplished before injuries waylaid his career. But with him being a local guy who was a star going back to middle school, he represented more than the sum of his career. And now the youngest MVP in league history is another man in his late 30s with a lot of deep thoughts.
“This journey was never about me,” he said. “Right from the jump, it was about creating a synergy that somehow people from the city can pull from. And somehow, I was that beacon or that vessel for the movement. But now, being 37 and looking at the totality of it, it never was about me. It was about everybody that found ways to come to my games. Somehow, we had some type of vibration that connected. … It was always meant to be.”
Outside the United Center on the night of Derrick Rose’s No. 1 jersey number being retired by the Bulls. (Jon Greenberg / The Athletic)
Everywhere you looked Saturday, there was Rose. Every fan got a black jersey T-shirt, and the players wore a version for their warmup shirts. Some fans got roses, and others bought posters or $350 letterman jackets. You could order a margarita that came with a rose in a large ice cube. In the atrium, near the Michael Jordan statue, the team exhibited local artists’ work based on Rose. There was a line to take a picture with a virtual Rose on a large computer screen.
Rose was honored last January with a night dedicated to him, and since then, he’s moved his family back to Chicago. His oldest son, P.J., goes to a public school a mile away from the United Center, where he’s a budding basketball star. As for Rose’s future, he said he’s not looking to do much with the Bulls organization or get back involved with basketball. He answered a number of questions Saturday by talking about his numerous business interests, which, cleverly enough, include an eponymous flower shop.
“Other than me coming to the games and being at my son and kids’ games, I want to be far away removed from it,” he said.
Michael Jordan has a message for D-Rose 🐐 pic.twitter.com/l1K2hz7Y4C
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 24, 2026
But before he slinks into the night, he’ll have to deal with the spotlight on him once again. His No. 1 jersey banner will rise to the rafters alongside those of franchise legends Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who each recorded a short message to Rose. Rose’s former teammates, coaches and friends showed up for the night, as well.
Rose never won a title with Chicago, but it’s clear that 15 years after his MVP season, he still holds a tight grip on the city’s heart.