Former Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose entered the NBA as a shooting star, winning league MVP at 22 years old before tearing the ACL in his left knee on April 28, 2012, in a first-round playoff game.

The injury caused him to miss the entire 2012-13 NBA season and put the brakes on his MVP trajectory. Rose fought through adversity, finishing up his NBA career as one of the most beloved NBA players of his generation before having his No. 1 jersey raised to the rafters of the United Center in Chicago on Jan. 24, 2026. 

Recently, Rose was featured in an interview during which he discussed whether or not kids will remember him in the coming years, comparing his legacy to NBA all-time greats Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell as he shared his take on the subject. 

Rose's ascent to the top of the MVP ladder, subsequent injuries, and journey to overcome adversity have become the stuff of legends among NBA fans young and old, but Rose knows his name recognition won't last forever. 

"The way my story kind of went, there, x amount of years, they're not going to remember me," he said in a Sports Illustrated interview. "So it's going to be the kid that actually do his due diligence, that look up my story to find out my story." 

Even some of the NBA's record-setting, most memorable players' stories have been forgotten, Rose added as he continued to share his thoughts.

"Cuz it's a lot (of people) that don't know Wilt Chamberlain, and he broke a lot of records and got all the awards and got hella accolades, but these kids today don't know who he is.

"Or they don't know Bill Russell, and he got the most championships, so who am I to say that they going to remember me? They probably don't. But the kid that do, I hope it's not by coincidence," Rose added. 

Rose became emotional during his retirement ceremony with the Bulls this past Jan. 24, a night that many fans of the Windy City's NBA team will never forget. His legacy is secure among fans of the Chicago Bulls franchise, and among NBA fans who know what he was capable of both before and after the injury. 

Rose, now 37 years old, is forging a path for himself in the world of business now that his NBA playing career is officially over. 

He planned to build a Chick-fil-A restaurant in downtown Chicago but narrowly missed the opportunity. Now he is focused on building a "business empire" that includes a construction company and a 287-page coffee-table book, 'The Poohprint,' which was released in March 2026. 

"I'm a businessman now," Rose said to Forbes this past January. "I'm building a legacy, something to pass down to my kids, something that's about growth, something that's authentic." 

Rose's authenticity and signature hard-driving style on the court have been his calling cards since the Bulls drafted him out of Memphis in 2008. 

His NBA legacy, like all others, has a shelf life, but he now has a chance to create a different legacy off the court that could last even longer.