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Jamal Collier
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls retired Derrick Rose’s No. 1 jersey on Saturday night following their 106-103 victory against the Boston Celtics.
Rose grew emotional throughout the ceremony, wiping tears from his eyes as his teammates, Taj Gibson and Luol Deng, began with the opening remarks. Rose then delivered a tearful speech of his own, honoring his mother, Brenda, his brothers, a collection of ex-teammates in attendance and a sold-out crowd in Chicago, his hometown, as nearly the entire arena remained in their seats for more than an hour after the game.
Rose became the fifth Bulls player in history to have his number retired. He joins Jerry Sloan (No. 4), Bob Love (No. 10), Michael Jordan (No. 23) and Scottie Pippen (No. 33). The Bulls also have banners that honor former coach Phil Jackson and former general manager Jerry Krause.
«This journey was never about me,» Rose said prior to the win. «It was about creating the synergy that somehow people from the city can pull from. And somehow I was that beacon or that vessel for that — from hooping.»
Temperatures outside dropped into the single digits in Chicago on Saturday, but fans still lined up outside the United Center hours before tip off, waiting for an early glimpse of the star of the night. A black T-shirt with Rose’s name and number on the back sat on top of every seat in the arena, and Bulls players wore the same shirt for their pregame warmups.
Rose finally took the court about an hour before the game as fans frantically lined up to snap pictures and video as Rose shot around with his son as family members and ex-teammates gathered along the baseline and at center court.
«All this, the moment, I’m still trying to take it in,» Rose said. «Just feeling grateful. Knowing the weather conditions out there, knowing that it is a Chicago thing, to even show up here, to fight through that and still go to an event, is huge.»
The Bulls had a live performance from a Chicago orchestra of the team’s intro song, SIRIUS by the Allan Parsons Project, to begin the postgame festivities, as fans chanted «M-V-P, M-V-P» throughout the night. Several current Bulls players, such as Coby White, Josh Giddey, Zach Collins and rookie Noa Essengue returned to the bench postgame to watch the ceremony.
Bulls guard Kevin Huerter hit the game-winning shot and said after the game he considered falling into his teammates, a celebration in nod of Rose after his game winning shot in the 2015 playoffs against the Cavaliers.
Rose, a Chicago native, played eight seasons with the Bulls after being selected No.1 overall in 2008. He was named the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year and made three All-Star teams. In 2011, he became the youngest MVP in NBA history.
LeBron James, Steph Curry and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Rose’s family and friends and Chicagoans talking about the impact Rose has had on their lives and the city.
About 20 of his ex-teammates were in attendance for Saturday’s festivities. Rose sat in a suite during the game along with former teammates such as Joakim Noah, Gibson, Deng, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and coach Tom Thibodeau. Noah said the group gathered to catchup on the night prior to the ceremony, an evening that lasted until the early hours of Saturday morning.
«Many, many nights, many, many foxholes, many, many scraps, he was right there with me,» Gibson said to fans on Saturday night. «And he was that one comforting teammate that you always looked to the corner or you looked to the side and he always say, ‘I got you.'»
Rose actually got a glimpse of the banner earlier this week, when he viewed the finished product at the United Center before it is raised to the rafters. He said seeing the banner was «unreal,» but he was still trying to process his emotions.
However, those around the Bulls organization made it clear what seeing Rose’s banner signified to them.
«Even though we didn’t win a championship, our fans did truly love that era of Chicago Bulls basketball,» Reinsdorf said. «Derrick, he’s Chicago born. He’s one of us. He was playing for the city, the city that he grew up in and that he loved and he cared so much about.
«This thing is forever man,» Deng told fans after the game. «When people talk about all the minutes, all the injuries, everything that we went through — that’s our trophy. That’s our trophy man.»
