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The Chicago Bulls have retired Derrick Rose’s No 1 jersey in an emotional ceremony after the 106-103 victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
The Chicago native, who retired in 2024, is the fifth Bulls player to have his shirt retired, after Jerry Sloan (No 4), Bob Love (No 10), Michael Jordan (No 23) and Scottie Pippen (No 33).
Rose, 37, played eight seasons for the franchise after being selected at No 1 the 2008 draft, named Rookie of the Year in 2008-09 and making three All-Star teams.
In 2011, he became the youngest MVP in NBA history, at the age of 22 years and seven months.
LeBron, Curry pay tribute as fans flock to attend
Rose wiped tears from his eyes as former team-mates, including Luol Deng, made opening remarks, while a video played on the scoreboard included messages from LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Rose spoke in front of a sold-out crowd, honouring family and colleagues as well the supporters who had lined up outside hours before tip-off in cold temperatures.
A black T-shirt with Rose’s name and number on the back was draped on every seat in the arena, while Bulls players wore the same shirt for their pre-game warm-ups.
Rose said: “It was about everybody that found ways to come to my games. That somehow, we had some type of vibration that connected. It is no coincidence that all this is going on, and the people that watched me play showed up today.”
Rose looks on with family members during Saturday’s ceremony
‘Rose is one of us, playing for the city he loves’
Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf told ESPN last week: “We wanted to honour Rose but we wanted to take the time to actually really plan something really, really special.
“I guess we could have done it last year, but I feel like this is the right way to do it. Give him time to prepare and give us time to ramp up to the big day.”
Reinsdorf added on the night: “Even though we didn’t win a championship, our fans did truly love that era of Chicago Bulls basketball.
“Derrick, he’s Chicago-born. He’s one of us. He was playing for the city, the city that he grew up in and that he loved and he cared so much about.”
