Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose will receive a special honor from the Chicago Bulls. The team announced they will retire Rose’s No. 1 jersey next season, making him just the fifth player in franchise history to have his jersey number retired.
OFFICIAL: The Bulls will retire Derrick Rose’s number during the 2025-26 NBA season. No other player will ever wear the number 1 for the Chicago Bulls.
Rose played for the Bulls from 2008 to 2016. The other retired numbers in Bulls history include Michael Jordan’s No. 23, Jerry Sloan’s No. 4, Bob Love’s No. 10, and Scottie Pippen’s No. 33. The Bulls officially stated that no other player will wear No. 1 again, tweeting, “Number 1 will always be from Chicago.”
Rose, drafted first overall by the Bulls in 2008, quickly became one of the league’s best players. He won Rookie of the Year in his first season and, by 2010-11, became the youngest MVP in NBA history at just 22 years old. That season, he led the Bulls to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
However, Rose’s career faced challenges after he tore his ACL in the first game of the 2012 Playoffs. This injury marked the beginning of a series of setbacks. He missed the entire 2012-13 season and most of 2013-14. Despite these struggles, Rose had memorable moments with the Bulls, including leading the team to the second round of the 2014-15 Playoffs. One standout moment was his buzzer-beating three-pointer against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of their second-round series, giving the Bulls a 2-1 series lead.
After leaving Chicago, Rose played for the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Memphis Grizzlies before retiring ahead of the 2024-25 season.
“Derrick is both a hometown hero and a symbol of an entire era of Bulls basketball,” said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “Retiring a jersey recognizes a player’s impact beyond on-court achievements. It honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the organization and forged deep, lasting connections with fans.”
Bulls President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf added, “We are proud to add Derrick to the elite group of players – Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen – whose jerseys have been officially retired by the Chicago Bulls.”
SOURCE: nbcchicago.com