Knicks Coach Makes Derrick Rose’s MVP Case

They, of course, will not play a down of college football, but the New York Knicks are destined for a Rose Bowl come January.

When the Knicks make their annual visit to United Center on Jan. 4, the hosting Chicago Bulls will honor and commemorate the career of Derrick Rose, the recently retired MVP who played seven seasons in the Windy City. The Knicks are an appropriate opponent for such an occasion: not only are the Knicks led by former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau but 11 of Rose’s 15 NBA seasons were spent in either Chicago (2008-16) or New York (2016-17, 2021-23).

With the Bulls facing the Knicks on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, Thibodeau was granted a chance to address the upcoming festivities during his pregame statements.

“That’ll be great. I’m thrilled that they’re honoring him in that way,” Thibodeau said in video from SNY prior to Chicago’s 124-123 victory. “I know what he means to that city. I know what the Bulls mean to him.”

A serendipitous leap in the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery allowed the Bulls to select the Chicago native Rose with the top choice out of Memphis. Thibodeau arrived two seasons later and oversaw Rose’s run to the 2010-11 MVP award, as he became the youngest man to earn the title.

Rose’s reign among the Association’s elite, however, indirectly came to an end in 2012 when he tore his ACL during a playoff game, which caused him to miss the entire ensuing season and subsequent injuries plagued him for the rest of his career.

While Rose never reobtained the heights of his MVP glory, he built a lasting, if not nomadic career that saw frequent collaborations with Thibodeau. The two would reunite in both Manhattan and Minnesota while Rose also earned NBA minutes in Cleveland, Detroit, and Memphis before he announced his retirement in September.

Thibodeau believes such resilience should grant Rose one last basketball destination: Springfield.

“He had a remarkable career and just to see how he handled everything that came his way … you can talk about him as a basketball player, the youngest MVP, [he’s] no doubt in mind a Hall-of-Famer,” Thibodeau continued. “I saw the look in his opponents’ eyes and I know what it says. To navigate all the things that he had to go through and have the career that he did, great teammate, great person, I’m thrilled for him.”

Rose played two stints in New York and averaged 14.1 points and 3.8 assists in 152 appearances. Of note, he placed third in the 2021 Sixth Man of the Year vote and stood as the leading scorer during their subsequent playoff cameo against Atlanta.

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