If ‘giving back’ had a face in the NBA, Derrick Rose would absolutely be the poster child for it. The former Chicago Bulls star has traded MVP chants for mentorship. His mantra is now passing on hard-earned wisdom to the next wave of hoopers. Most recently, Rose landed in Treviso, Italy, where he showed up for Adidas Eurocamp, a proving ground for Europe’s best young basketball players. This prestigious event draws NBA scouts, execs, and future draft hopefuls aged 16 to 22 from all over Europe. And Rose jumped in as a mentor, dropping knowledge from his rollercoaster journey under the game’s brightest lights. But the tour didn’t end there, as France was calling him.

When the Adidas Eurocamp wrapped up between May 31 and June 2, Derrick Rose wasn’t in a rush to catch a flight home. Instead, the former MVP made a quick pivot to France, trading basketballs for baseline seats at Roland-Garros. There, he caught a fiery quarterfinal clash between world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and American contender Tommy Paul. Alcaraz put on an absolute masterclass, dismantling Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to punch his ticket to a third straight semifinal appearance. And smack in the middle of that electric Parisian crowd sat Derrick Rose, taking it all in. And the world didn’t forget to note down the priceless reactions that came out of Derrick after watching Carlos’ breathtaking performance.

In Bleacher Report’s latest Instagram story, fans got a front-row seat to Derrick Rose’s unfiltered reactions during the match. The clips showed Derrick fully locked in, his face a mix of disbelief and admiration with every Alcaraz winner. Judging by those wild hand gestures and headshakes, the man was living for the moment. And when the performance hit a ridiculous level, Derrick couldn’t help but blurt it out. “Amazing, his (Carlos) pursuit of balls that he shouldn’t get…He is fast enough to get them.” 

Then came the line that had fans howling online. Derrick said, “He (Carlos Alcaraz) isn’t human, bruh.” Although this might sound like exaggeration, honestly, if you watched that match, you probably said the exact same thing. This take might sound ridiculous, but remember, Derrick has some real talent in tennis. So when such a comment came from him, we must admit, Carlos was really impressive.

Derrick Rose opens up about his lesser-known clay court journey

Derrick Rose surprised a lot of folks during the recent TNT Sports segment when he opened up about his quiet connection to tennis. Turns out, long before the MVP trophies and NBA stardom, young Derrick was out here swinging rackets on Chicago’s clay courts. “They brought the program to my school when I was in sixth grade… We played at… The McCormick Place, downtown Chicago… Played in a few tournaments there,” Derrick revealed.

So Rose even entered a few tournaments and even snagged a trophy before the program disappeared, along with his shot at chasing that dream. “After that, they took that program away from my school, and my dreams was wiped away right from there,” he added. But here’s the part that really hits. Rose’s love for the sport never faded. Even now, he watches tennis with a certain curiosity, staying locked in anytime elite talent takes the court. 

And speaking of the elite, Rose didn’t shy away from giving Carlos Alcaraz his flowers either. The 3x All-Star admitted he sees flashes of his younger, explosive self in the way Alcaraz moves. That same unpredictable, raw energy he once brought to the league now shows up on Roland-Garros’ clay. Kind of makes you wonder, what if those courts in Chicago hadn’t gone dark so soon?