Reliving the Knicks career of the beloved and now retired Derrick Rose

Saying goodbye to a legend the city had no idea it’d fall in love with

After finishing an abysmal 32-50 in the 2015-16 season, New York made headlines by trading Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon, and Jerian Grant for Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday, and a 2017 second-round pick. Given the highs that fans had seen out of the league’s youngest MVP in years prior, there was a glimmer of hope that Rose, along with Carmelo Anthony, and Kristaps Porzingis, could provide a few more wins and some entertaining basketball.

But with the rest of the roster being comprised of misfits and over-the-hill veterans that included Justin Holiday, Brandon Jennings, Courtney Lee, Joakim Noah, Kyle O’Quinn, Lance Thomas, and Sasha Vujacic, the Knicks ended up taking a step back and finishing the following season with a disappointing 29-53 record.

Despite the team’s struggles though, Rose had himself a very solid year. And most importantly, he stayed relatively healthy, playing in, and starting in 64 games. In those games, Rose averaged 18PPG (most since 2012), and 4.4APG, while shooting 47.1% from the field, which was the third highest field goal percentage of his career at that point.

Following the season though, he signed a one-year deal to join LeBron James, Kevin Love, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were just a year removed from winning a championship. It was weird at first seeing Rose link up with James, who he’d had some incredibly memorable playoff battles with. And at that time, it seemed like Rose’s one-year tenure as a Knick would end up as an afterthought that we’d only remember as part of some deep-cut trivia question years down the line.

That ended up being far from true though as New York traded Dennis Smith Jr. and a 2021 second-round pick for him in the 2020-21 season to pair him up with Tom Thibodeau, who was Rose’s coach during his time in Chicago.

At the time of the trade, the Knicks were seventh in the Eastern Conference and were just 11-13. And while many may not remember, the trade wasn’t unanimously loved. While the win-now faction of the fanbase was delighted to see the team bring back the veteran ball handler who had averaged 18PPG and 4.9APG over his last two seasons, the portion of the fanbase that wanted the team to focus more on rebuilding and developing guys like RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and Obi Toppin were far from thrilled.

But those fans quickly came around as Rose breathed life into the team and ended up being the primary catalyst for turning the team’s fortunes around. Rose instantly brought some much needed pace in to the second unit, which greatly and positively impacted the play of the aforementioned youngsters. And throughout his time there, his teammates had nothing but positive things to say about the veteran’s presence both on the court and off.

Over the next 35 games in which he appeared in that season, New York went 24-11, which, along with Julius Randle’s ascension to stardom, catapulted the Knicks to their first postseason appearance in eight seasons. And while the Knicks bowed out of the playoffs unceremoniously against the Atlanta Hawks, Rose went off for 26 points at Madison Square Garden in their lone win in the series.

Rose went on to have a solid season in the year after, averaging 12 PPG and 4 APG, but the 33-year-old only appeared in 26 games. Unfortunately for Rose, that’s when it started to look like the beginning of the end. As we all know now, the Knicks signed free agent point guard Jalen Brunson the following summer to be the face of the franchise, while up and coming guard Immanuel Quickley took on the full-time backup point guard duties. And in his final season as a Knick, Rose appeared in just 27 games and averaged 5.6 PPG.

Despite what the numbers over the last couple of seasons say though, it’s evident by the amount of love and respect that Rose has gotten today that the former MVP’s impact on his team, teammates, and the game in general has gone way beyond the his impressive 16-year career in which he averaged 17.4 PG, and 5.2 APG. Rose may not have been able to retain his pre-injury form, and his post-injury accolades don’t do his peak level much justice. But from the fans across the world sharing stories of their favorite Rose moments, to players around the league talking about the player and the person Rose was, the Chicago native impacted more people than he’s likely aware of.

Now, it is easy to think about Rose from the perspective of “what if?”. Rose is up there with Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady in terms of NBA players whose injuries unfortunately limited their greatness and the longevity of their peak. But it’s equally as inspiring to see someone who overcame the sheer amount of injuries and setbacks to not only stick with the sport he loves, but also to remain a humble, selfless, and caring teammate, and player. From the incredible performances, to selflessly taking on a bench role, to taking a step back when the young core was ready, Rose will be missed by many around the league, and will always be a pivotal member of the “Once a Knick, Always a Knick” family.