Former MVP announces retirement from basketball

Derrick Rose, the youngest NBA MVP in history , announced his retirement from the sport on Thursday, ending his 16-year career in the league.

In a statement released to The Athletic's Shams Charania , Rose expressed excitement for his post-playing career while offering a unique perspective on his mindset about life and basketball.

"The next chapter is about chasing my dreams and sharing my growth," Rose said. "I believe true success comes from becoming who you were created to be, and I want to show the world who I am beyond basketball. Whether good or bad, everyone has a 'What if' story in their life. Even if I could, I wouldn't change anything in mine, because it's what helped me find real joy."

The 35-year-old also shared a post on social media that included pages from local newspapers of the six cities he played in — Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis — while thanking each fanbase for supporting him in his journey.

Earlier this week, the Grizzlies granted Rose's request to let him out of the final year of his contract after the point guard gave up his entire $3.36 million salary. When news broke of Memphis waiving him, there was speculation of Rose potentially returning to Chicago or New York for one last season. However, he teased his retirement via various social media posts leading to Thursday's announcement.

Rose was drafted No. 1 overall by his hometown franchise, the Bulls, in 2008. He would make an instant impact as Chicago improved from a 33-49 team in 2007-08 to a 41-41 squad in his rookie year, with Rose winning the Rookie of the Year award for averaging 16.8 points and 6.3 assists. Rose quickly became a fan favorite for his electrifying dunks and fearless ability to attack the rim, for which he got labeled the heir apparent to Michael Jordan and the superstar to bring the Bulls back to relevancy.

By his third season, the Bulls turned into a juggernaut 62-20 team as Rose became the youngest player in NBA history to win the MVP award.

Sadly, the trajectory of Rose's career took a nosedive when he suffered a catastrophic ACL injury in the 2012 playoffs. His next few years were also marred by injuries as Rose failed to regain his MVP form. The Bulls traded Rose to the Knicks in 2016, ending his eight-year stint with the franchise. Thereafter, the guard became a journeyman who bounced around teams while dealing with various injuries.

To Rose's credit, he embraced the role of a backup point guard in his later years, mentoring the likes of Ja Morant and Jalen Brunson among other young players.

Rose wraps up his NBA career with 12,573 points and 3,770 assists from 723 regular-season games. He played only 77 games in his last three years, including 24 in his lone season with the Grizzlies.