Knicks Coach Makes Derrick Rose’s Hall of Fame Case

After a thrilling end to the 2024 calendar year, the New York Knicks have their sights set on No. 1.

Chasing the Cleveland Cavaliers is out of the question for the time being but the latter half of a weekend back-to-back will give them a chance to recognize the career of one of modern basketball’s most renowned names. After the Knicks face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday (8 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV), they’ll head to United Center to face the Chicago Bulls on Derrick Rose Night.

“Whatever role [he had], he excelled in his role,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said before his team faced the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night (h/t SNY). “He was the ultimate teammate and obviously a great player. I can always recall watching, looking into the eyes of the opponent when he had the ball, like you could see the fear. To me, there’s no question he’s a Hall of Fame player.”

The Knicks were an appropriate opponent for the night Rose’s No. 1 moves next to the 23 of Michael Jordan and the 33 of Scottie Pippen: following eight years with the Bulls (2008-16), Rose had two stints with the Knicks amidst a nomadic second half to his 15-season career. The Knicks, of course, are also coached by Thibodeau, who oversaw Rose’s NBA heyday as the Bulls’ boss, including his run to the 2011 MVP award … and the devastating ACL injury suffered during the following year’s playoffs.

Having reunited with Rose during their subsequent shared stops in New York and Minnesota, Thibodeau has long praised his protege for extending his career as a depth star when injuries ate away at further prominence. Of note, Rose placed third in the 2021 Sixth Man of the Year vote when he joined Thibodeau in New York at the trade deadline through a deal with Detroit.

“He had an unbelievable career 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, coming off the bench,” Thibodeau said. “The thing that I loved about him the most probably was his humility. It’s rare when a player of his ability has the humility he does. He’s just an unbelievable person.”

“They say a true measure of a man is how he handles himself through adversity. To go through the injuries the way he did and to always come back, never stay down, be a great teammate, winning was important to him. He loved his teammates and you can’t find one teammate that didn’t love playing with him.”

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