Chicago Bulls icon Derrick Rose has never been hard to read on the floor: attack, compete, keep coming. That edge showed up again in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, where Rose opened up about the mindset that carried him through a 15-season NBA career and the way he sees his place in basketball history.
Rose, who was drafted No. 1 overall by his hometown Bulls and spent seven seasons with the team, had another full-circle moment during the 2025-26 NBA season when Chicago retired his No. 1 jersey at the United Center. The honor sealed the dream for a Chicago native who grew up inside the city limits and wound up becoming the face of his own team.
While attending his branded flower shop exhibit in Chicago, Rose talked candidly about respect, legacy, and the old-school lessons that shaped him. One of the sharpest came from a commercial shoot with Kobe Bryant for NBA 2K.
Rose said Bryant made him wait three hours before filming began, and he only learned the reason through his agent, Bulls legend and three-time NBA champion B.J. Armstrong.
At the time, Rose’s biggest credential was being the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2008-09 season. Bryant, meanwhile, arrived with a résumé that included four NBA championships, the 2007-08 NBA Most Valuable Player award, 11 All-NBA selections, 11 All-Star nods, and nine All-Defensive Team selections. The message was clear: in the NBA, seniority carries weight.
Rose also got reflective about how he thinks his own career will be remembered, and he didn’t try to dress it up.
"In X amount of years, they're not gonna remember me."
Derrick Rose
"They don't know Bill Russell and he got the most [NBA] championships"
Derrick Rose
"There's a lot of players who don't know Wilt Chamberlain, and he broke a lot of records, and got all the awards"
Derrick Rose
That perspective fit the broader theme of the interview. Rose said his approach to basketball has always been about effort - in games, in practice, and even during rehab from injuries. He described a league built on competing hard enough to earn respect, with players trying to outwork and outplay whoever stood across from them.
He also pointed to Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles as an example of the kind of aggressive mindset he admires. Rose said he likes how Miles keeps attacking offensively in a way that makes it hard to tell whether she’s looking to score or pass.
The conversation was short, but the takeaway was unmistakable: Rose still sees the game through the same lens that defined his career - force, urgency, and a respect for basketball history.
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