Derrick Rose has had one of the toughest and most heartbreaking NBA careers, and to that point his former rival Dwyane Wade had to defend him.
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Rose and Wade are both known as Chicago heroes as they both grew up in in the Windy City. Wade and Rose grew up in dangerous communities in the south side of Chicago with Wade coming from Robbins, Illinois and Rose from Englewood, Illinois.
Wade and Rose both had to struggle immensely as they grew up in turbulent environments. Rose’s family was poor to the point where they had to eat powdered sugar while Wade had to deal with his parents being divorced when he was only four months old and his mother being on drugs.
Nothing has come easy for these stars both before they joined the NBA and during their time in the league. However, they both found their place eventually, and the city of Chicago has nothing but love for them.
Derrick Rose And His Ascent To Superstardom With The Chicago Bulls
With the number one overall pick in the 2008 draft, the Chicago Bulls had the easiest decision to make. The high-flying, explosive point guard out of Memphis, who grew up in Chicago, was the clear choice to make, and the Bulls pulled the trigger.
Three years later, in 2011, Rose would win the MVP award, being the youngest to ever do it. It was a moment that Chicago fans would never forget. It had been years since the Bulls had seen anyone of Rose’s caliber, and the fact that he was a homegrown star made it even more sweeter.
Chicago was a young team with a franchise superstar. Things looked like they were finally on an upward trend for the franchise that had been starved for excitement since Michael Jordan’s glory days.
The Miami Heat ‘Big Three’ with LeBron, Wade, and Bosh would still reign supreme during Rose’s time (repeated losses in the playoffs), but there was hope.
Disaster Strikes For The Chicago Bulls And Rose In 2012
Rose continued to build on his MVP year, carrying the Bulls to the number one seed once more in a lockout 2011-12 season. The Bulls had an easy matchup in the first round, playing the eight seed Philadelphia 76ers.
Up big late in the game, Derrick Rose was still playing as hard as ever, but that’s when things went horribly wrong for him and the Chicago Bulls.
Torn ACL. Done for the series, out for the next year. In a second, all of Chicago’s hopes and dreams seemed to be snatched away. Rose’s injury was horrible to witness. His grimace tells you how heartbroken he was. However, this wasn’t the end or anything right?
He’d recover and come back strong the next year, right?
Torn meniscus, done for the year once more. After two devastating injuries, Rose was never the same player again. He lacked that explosivness he was known for, and he couldn’t perform as the lead superstar the way he had before. There were flashes sure, like this moment during the 2015 NBA playoffs:
However, that’s all they were. Flashes. After some troubled years, the Chicago Bulls finally made the difficult decision to move on from Rose. In 2016, they’d trade him to the New York Knicks, ending his era with the Bulls.
That year, the Bulls would also sign Dwyane Wade to play alongside Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo in Chicago’s own attempt to form something resembling a ‘Big Three.’
Dwyane Wade Praises Derrick Rose On His Path To Recovery
Things weren’t easy for Rose after going to New York. He struggled to find an identity and would leave to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Things really didn’t improve there either as Rose would even take routine absences, contemplating his future in the NBA.
However, he seemed to have finally made it back when he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018. He still wasn’t a superstar, but he finally had a team where he felt like he belonged.
One of the best moments in NBA history took place during his stint there when Rose would drop 50 points in a truly magnificent, turn-back-the-clock performance (don’t call it vintage, however).
That performance also led to one of the most emotional and heartwarming postgame interviews in NBA history as Rose talked about his way back to finding a role in the NBA:
Now, Rose is a valuable piece of the New York Knicks as he took them from a middling team to a playoff contender immediately after joining again this past year.
Dwyane Wade made sure that people were appreciative of the Chicago native and give him the respect he deserves. Wade would say:
“I’ve said this before: if you don’t like D-Rose, something is wrong with you,” Wade said. “He’s that kind of guy. He’s that kind of player. What I love about watching D-Rose play in his second act is older players get smarter. Normally, your body don’t hold up, but you’re a better basketball player in the mind as you get older. So, you see the success of a D-Rose now because his body has held up for him. He plays with poise. He plays with patience. He doesn’t use his explosiveness all the time. He only uses it when he needs to. So, if you see him coming up the break, he’ll hit you with some quick explosion, and then he’s a great finisher as well.”
Coming from one Chicago legend to the other, that’s some high praise. The work Rose has done to put himself back in the league is tremendous and should be admired the way Wade mentioned.
There are rumors floating around that the Chicago Bulls may want to sign their former MVP back again, and if they do, Chicago is sure to welcome him back with open arms and smiles all around.
