Derrick Rose will be honored by the Bulls before Saturday night’s game against the Knicks, and the team announced he will have his No.1 retired at some point next season.
But the former NBA MVP definitely does not want a statue outside the United Center after seeing some other recent examples.
“The statues, the way people been creating the statues, no, I do not want no statue,” Rose told ESPN in a sitdown interview on Friday.
The Miami Heat unveiled a statue of Dwyane Wade in October, and the sculpture generated widespread criticism for not resembling the Hall of Fame guard.
Michael Jordan and Blackhawks legends Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita are the only Chicago athletes presently with statues outside United Center.
The 36-year-old Rose retired following a 15-year career that was slowed by significant injuries, but he was a three-time All-Star under Tom Thibodeau’s tutelage with the Bulls and the youngest MVP in league history at 22 in 2010-11.
Rose later also played for Thibodeau with the Timberwolves and the Knicks, during his second of two stints in New York.
Both the Knicks and the Bulls will wear Rose shirts during pregame warmups and he and his family will be honored with the unveiling of the Derrick Rose Atrium Experience at the arena.
Rose added in the interview that he believes having his number retired — becoming just the fifth player to be so honored in team history alongside Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Sloan and Bob Love — will ᴀssure his spot in NBA history.
“That would be my way of getting close to the Top 75, and I’m only saying that because it relates to the MVP,” Rose said. “It’s only a handful, a small group that got that trophy back there. And to think that way of playing, the Chicago way of playing, is not in that 75, it makes you think about it a little bit or question it a little bit.”
Thibodeau said earlier in the week that “there’s no question” that Rose also deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.
“His numbers say what he did was incredible. He’s had an unbelievable career,” Thibodeau said. “And he handled everything that came his way – whether he was a 22-year-old MVP or going through injuries or coming back at the end of his career and coming off the bench. Whatever role – he excelled in his role. And he was the ultimate teammate, and obviously a great player… You couldn’t find one teammate who didn’t love him.”
