Everyone knows Derrick Rose and former Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau have a very strong relationship.

When the Utah Jazz waived Rose after acquiring him from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, the former MVP was on the open market for weeks and no team showed interest in signing him.

That's when Thibodeau, who was the president and coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, took a chance on Rose by signing him for the rest of the season despite having two guards in Jeff Teague and Tyus Jones on the roster.

Rose had a strong 2018 playoff showing with the Timberwolves and followed that up by having a very productive 2018-19 campaign where he averaged 18.0 points per game.

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The Chicago native, who is now on the Detroit Pistons, says his relationship with Thibodeau is bigger than basketball.

“I figured out that Thibs loved me unconditionally. He’s the first coach up here that I felt like loved me unconditionally and it wasn’t about what I did for him,” Rose told Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “He hit me up for my birthday and he really cared about who I was as a person. I didn’t know I was going to Minnesota — he reached out and said they didn’t have a spot because they had two or three point guards.

“I was a (small forward) when I first came in. That let you know he just wanted me on the team and it wasn’t about my position. He knew there was some way I could help, and he was just looking out for me.”

Rose's 2018-19 season with Minnesota was highlighted by his 50-point game on Halloween against the Jazz.

That performance would have never happened if Thibodeau didn't give Rose another opportunity to play when the rest of the league gave up on him.