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With the announcement of the Chicago Bulls retiring Derrick Rose's jersey next year, the team celebrated the career of the star on Saturday night when they took on the New York Knicks. Rose retired last year which sparked the talk of the Bulls possibly building a statue along with hanging his jersey in the rafters as during the celebration, former teammate Joakim Noah had an impassioned speech.
During Noah's speech, Rose would visibly tear up as his close friend honed in on how much he has meant to the city of Chicago by not just calling him the “MVP,” but the “people's champ.”
“Pooh, this story is not just about your success,” Noah said. “It’s about hope, it’s about overcoming adversity. Every time you step inside the [United Center] fans are going to chant MVP.”
“You’re an MVP, you’re the youngest MVP in league history, you’re the MVP of Chicago,” Noah continued. “Being the MVP carries a lot of responsibility. The way you handled yourself through all of that, that’s what I’m inspired about. You always put the city on your back and you carried that with you. You’re not only the MVP, you’re the people’s champ.”
“You're not only the MVP, Pooh, you're the people's champ!” ❤️
Joakim Noah shares a special moment with Derrick Rose on his celebration night 🌹 pic.twitter.com/tJzmdQTcbq
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 5, 2025
Derrick Rose inspires “hope” to Joakim Noah
Subsequently, as others would honor Rose like Bulls star Zach LaVine and former head coach Tom Thibodeau, Noah had an impactful speech dedicated to his friend. He would tell a story about a tattoo that Rose had and how it represented how important “hope” was and remembering always where he came from according to the league's website.
“I remember being on the (team) plane with Pooh and he had a tattoo and I said, ‘Pooh that tattoo is terrible, you going to change that?’ You said that tattoo is to remember where I came from,” Noah said. “Hope is a powerful emotion. You give people that every single day, you gave your teammates hope because we knew we had the best player on the court every single night, you gave the fans hope because they knew they were watching the most exciting player every single night.”
“You gave your city hope,” Noah continued. “I saw it yesterday at Simeon (Career Academy exhibition), how proud they are of you. I salute you Pooh and everything you stand for. To see you come out of this journey at peace is what I’m most proud of. That’s why they are putting that No. 1 in the rafters. I love you and it was a pleasure lacing ‘em up with you.”
Derrick Rose's Bulls career was filled with “what ifs”
Rose's story is one to be remembered forever by Bulls fans as he is from the city, played high school basketball here, and was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick by his hometown team. He would be the youngest MVP ever in 2011 but the exciting guard would have an immense amount of injuries.
Though Rose responded in grace about the “what if scenarios,” he's grateful for what he's done in his career as it'll be highlighted by his jersey in the rafters of the United Center.
