In a wide-ranging interview with Nick Friedell of ESPN, Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Derrick Rose says he never considered retiring from the NBA.

Last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rose left the team because he had a bone spur in his foot which prevented him from running. He also left the New York Knicks briefly in his last season there. Multiple reports stated that the former MVP was contemplating walking away from the game.

Rose, however, refuted those reports.

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“No,” Rose said. “I always say like, I quit a couple of times but never gave up. Like that's something I never did. I never gave up, I never threw in the towel. And it plays a role into like the character I have or the character I've built for myself. Like I know how much I love the game. I have my son, I have my daughter now. And I never want them to look back and see that I gave up.

“So me having my kids I feel like they played a huge role in me especially coming back and me like pushing through everything right now. Like being 30 , going through five surgeries — four surgeries, an eye surgery … five surgeries total — and just understanding where I'm at in my career and knowing that I still have a life. But I don't like speaking about it anymore. I just want to let my game speak for itself.”

Derrick Rose scored a career-high 50 points against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was overcome with emotion after the game and started to cry during his postgame interview. Star players all around the league took to Twitter and Instagram to congratulate the youngest MVP in NBA history for his performance.

After undergoing four knee surgeries and one eye operation, Derrick Rose’s determination and hard work should be appreciated. This is a man who has been through hell and back four times now. But he keeps getting back up, for the love of the game.