Derrick Rose Retires From NBA After 16-Year Rollercoaster Career: “I Gave My All To The Game”

Derrick Rose will now have more time to sit back and smell the roses. The 35-year-old hooper officially announced his retirement from the NBA this week after a 16-year career full of highs and lows .

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“Knowing that I gave my all to the game, I feel confident in my decision,” he told ESPN . “Basketball was just the beginning for me. Now, it’s important that I give my all to my family — they deserve that.” Rose also took to Instagram to announce his retirement with an emotional letter to his fans, just one day after teasing it with a trailer.

“Thank You, My First Love…,” he wrote. “You believed in me through the highs and lows, my constant everything else seemed uncertain. You showed me what love truly meant. You turned the court into my sanctuary, a home where I could express myself freely. You made every early morning and late night we spent together worth every drop of sweat.”

“You reminded me that I could always rely on you, that in every moment of doubt, you would show me what I’m capable of,” Derrick Rose added. “You introduced me to new places and cultures that a kid from Chicago could have never imagined. You taught me that every loss was a lesson and every win was a reason to be grateful. You offered wisdom that was not just about the game, but about life, discipline, hard work, perseverance.” Read the full letter above.

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Rose took out ads in local newspapers in the six cities he played for during his NBA career and added the retirement letter there as well. Those included Chicago, where he got his start in the NBA and played the longest, plus New York, Cleveland , Minnesota, Detroit, and Memphis. The Memphis Grizzlies was the three-time All-Star’s last stop before calling it quits, and the organization granted his request to be let out of the final year of his contract before its expiration.

D-Rose experienced success right from the beginning of his NBA career, earning both the Rookie Of The Year award and All-Rookie First Team honors in 2009. His trajectory hit another level two years later when he became the youngest player to win the MVP award and made the All-NBA First Team while leading the Chicago Bulls to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 62-20 record. They made it to the Eastern Conference Finals that season before being taken down by the powerhouse Miami Heat anchored by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

Derrick Rose’s career was changed forever in 2012 when he tore his ACL in the first round of the 2012 playoffs. He missed all of the following season and played just 10 games the subsequent year. From there, he never returned to the elite level of play from his first few seasons but he was a serviceable guard and strong veteran presence for the teams he played for throughout the rest of his career. Rose finished his career averaging 17.4 points and 5.2 assists per game.

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