Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose will be honored by his ex-franchise, the Chicago Bulls, next season when the team will retire his No. 1 jersey in the rafters of the United Center.

Rose, a Chicago native, played eight seasons with the Bulls and became the youngest MVP in NBA history after his first overall selection in 2008. The honor comes after Bulls CEO and president Michael Reinsdorf informed Rose in person on Saturday morning of the franchise’s plans.

Before the announcement, Rose stated he’d like to have his jersey retired instead of having a statue. “I would love that. That’s more me if they would do it,” Rose said to ESPN.

Several NBA legends have been honored with statues by their respective former teams. However, not all come out as life-like as they’d hoped. Last year, the Miami Heat unveiled their Dwayne Wade statue, but the results were underwhelming, with the former player looking less enthused at its revelation.

It also drew ridicule on social media. “The way people have been creating these statues, I don’t want a statue,” Rose added. “No statue. Jerry, no statue. Please, Michael, no statue.”

The Bulls have retired just four jerseys in their franchise history: No. 4 Jerry Sloan, No. 6 Bill Russell, No. 10 Bob Love, No. 23 Michael Jordan, and No. 33 Scottie Pippen. Rose’s No. 1 has been somewhat unofficially retired since he departed the franchise, with fans being overly protective when players have tried to fill the 36-year-old’s shoes.

Chicago has waited nearly two decades to honor its next great, with Pippen the last recipient in 2005. However, before his jersey is retired and hoisted high in the United Center, the Bulls and another of Rose’s former franchises, the New York Knicks, will pay tribute to the player on Saturday.

The Bulls will retire Derrick Rose’s No. 1 jersey in the rafters next season

The Bulls will retire Derrick Rose’s No. 1 jersey in the rafters next season ( 

Image:

Getty)

Players on both teams will wear shooting shirts to honor Rose, who retired from the NBA last September. Rose’s last stint in the league came at the Memphis Grizzlies last season. Unfortunately, injuries hampered Rose’s career, his most notable being a 2012 ACL tear.

The debate is now whether Rose will be an NBA Hall of Famer in the future. For some, it’s not even in doubt. “Yes. HOF. Doing what he did pre-injuries was one of the best talents the game has ever seen. He did enough. He impacted the game and the city to a point where basketball felt back in Chicago. No rose slander will be tolerated. Youngest MVP,” one said on X.

“This is cool and all, but I just can’t get over the ‘what could have been’ parts of his career. Guess that’s a ‘me’ problem. Dude was an athletic marvel before he broke down,” another reminisced, following the jersey announcement.