“A rose can be of many colors, but this Rose will forever be Chicago red.” No phrase suits Derrick Rose better than this one. Yes, he hung his sneakers as a Grizzly, but that heart? It beats for Chicago. It always did, as if it were factory-made on the soil Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen dictated in the 90s. Thus, when he announced his retirement last summer, the Windy City was more heartbroken than Memphis. They loved Pooh; they love Pooh.

On January 4, 2025, Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf looked Derrick in the eye before Derrick Rose Night and dropped the words Chicago had long been waiting for. His jersey will rise into the rafters during the 2025–26 season. The moment cracked him wide open. Tears rolled, memories crashed, and the city felt every beat of his heart as history finally called his name.

Now, as the clock ticks slowly, January 24, 2026, stands five months away from the grand coronation. The 2008 No. 1 pick, the youngest MVP in NBA history, and the now-retired Bulls legend’s jersey will proudly hang on the rafters of the United Arena.

Thus, taking to his IG Story, the 36-year-old shared a heartfelt message for the fans who’ve never left his side. Derrick Rose wrote: “The game has given me more than I ever could have imagined. From Englewood to the rafters, my story has always been about making the city proud. This isn’t for me, this is for Chicago. Peace and Love, Pooh 1.24.26.” 

Derrick Rose danced through 406 games with Chicago for eight seasons, starting 405, and left numbers that breathe like poetry. He lived 35 minutes a night, shot 44.8 percent from the floor, 28.3 percent from deep, and 80.5 percent at the line. He carved 19.7 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks. Every digit hums his legacy. Yet the 2011-12 season remains the eyesore for Pooh. An ACL tear turned everything for him, and the seasons that followed were equally painful as one injury after another glued him to the bench, away from his red jersey No. 1.

Surprisingly enough, the 2011 MVP never won a title with the Chicago Bulls. Maybe those eight seasons were enough to seal his fate among the Pantheon of the Greatest. But suddenly, there is a spotlight shift towards the 1996-1998 No. 91 of the Bulls. Yes, Dennis Rodman. He was a part of the dream team that took a three-peat from ’96 to ’98. Yet, that isn’t enough to hang his jersey on the United Center rafters.

Dennis Rodman’s legendary status in Chicago remains a question, as Derrick Rose eternalizes himself

Dennis Rodman only spent three seasons in Chicago, yet those years rewrote dominance. The Bulls stormed to a combined 203 wins against 43 losses, pulling off a second three-peat and sealing the legendary 72–10 run in 1996. Rodman lived on the glass like a king. He led the league in rebounds with 14.9, 16.1, and 15.0, putting history in his grip every single night.

Rodman’s rebounding streak reached seven consecutive seasons at the top, ending in 1998 when he became the oldest ever to lead the league at 36 years and 341 days. He owned the boards in the Finals too, grabbing 11 offensive rebounds twice in 1996, outworking entire teams like Seattle that managed only 12. To this day, no one has touched his Bulls records in offensive and defensive rebounding.

And still the debate burns. Some say he was a mercenary, a role player who should stand with Horace Grant, Artis Gilmore, and Toni Kukoc, all without jerseys in the rafters. Yet Dennis Rodman carries a Hall of Fame badge unlike them, enshrined in 2011. The NBA named him to the All-Defensive First Team in 1996. The number 91 feels untouchable anyway, so why not raise it forever and let Chicago honor the wild genius it witnessed?

Chicago breathes through its legends, and now two stories collide under the same roof. Derrick Rose, the youngest MVP, carries his number to the rafters with tears that feel like home. Dennis Rodman, the rebel king of rebounds, still sparks a fiery debate on worth. Yet together, they remind us that greatness wears many faces, and Chicago always knows how to crown its own.