During the festive week, the hooping fans have another reason to celebrate. In a few days, Derrick Rose Night will be in full effect during the game against the New York Knicks. But before that, the Bulls had Pooh relive a few memorable moments from his career. And accompanying him was his good friend and longtime teammate, Joakim Noah. About a decade together, know that there are more than a few stories to uncover with a glimpse of a memory. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James would aid one of those.

“They’re Hollywood as hell. They’re still very good. So you got to give credit where credit is due. And, you know, it’s just tough to be in this position right now,” Derrick Rose can be heard saying in a throwback clip of his post-game interview. “Yes, they are Hollywood, but they’re very good at the same time.”

While watching the highlights, Noah spoke about Derrick Rose’s importance and how close the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat was. The Bulls would win the game 1, but the Heat made a comeback and ultimately won the series 4-1.

“Pooh is as special as they come. And you know, looking at these highlights is just it’s crazy. You know, it was also okay LeBron decided to go to Miami and with Chris Bosh. And I felt like we were really the team that America wanted. We were a team that had the chance to beat them,” Noah reminisces.

Rose was indeed the best on the team, averaging 23.4 points and four rebounds, but LeBron, Bosh, and Wade’s 25.8, 23.2, and 18.8 points across 5 games, respectively, would prove a little too much. But the Bulls, with Luol Deng and Carls Boozer, did manage to hold their star-studded opponents to no more than 10-point margin. D-Rose, the leage MVP that year, recalls the intensity the series carried.

“I mean, I feel like it was very intense, especially with us having, like, that old-school vibe of competing no matter who’s on the opposite side. And with them having, like, three Hall of Famers. It made us want to beat them even more,” he admits via Chicago Bulls YouTube. Derrick Rose even joined the Cleveland later in his career to form a partnership with LeBron. But did you know it could have been way before?

Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Derrick Rose, the initial super team?

King James made “The Decision” to join the Heat alongside Chris Bosh and form the Big 3 with Dwyane Wade in 2010. But before that decision was made, several other teams were in play, including the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls. In fact, the Windy City native, Wade, was all in for representing his home team and playing alongside another native boy Rose.

“Chicago was on the top of both of our lists. They had to offer two max contracts, and they had a young D Rose.” Dwyane Wade revealed the real possibility of joining his native franchise, alongside LeBron James. Even Rose tried to recruit both in 2010, but only the Miami Heat had enough cap space and that’s where they eventually settled.

Later, Derrick Rose became a teammate with both LeBron and Wade, but it was for a short period. He injured his ankle during his stint with the Cavaliers in 2017, and could only feature in 16 games, ultimately being traded in February. Though a championship evaded him, the 30-minute long journey down the memory lane prove Derrick had quite the run.