Derrick Rose Says He Almost Retired After The 2016-17 Season

After a single season with the New York Knicks, Derrick Rose was denied the opportunity to return in the summer of 2017 and would eventually land a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But apparently, Rose almost didn't come back after leaving the Knicks that summer and recently told the New York Post that he was seriously contemplating retirement at 28 years old. 

“Around that time I was still trying to figure out if I still wanted to play,” Rose told The Post, acknowledging the thought of retirement for the first time. “Just trying to figure out my route, if I wanted to stay or leave.”

Rose averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 assists, and 0.7 steals per game during his first stint in New York but he failed to make a significant difference for them as they'd go on to finish 12 in the Conference. The Knicks elected to pursue a different path in free agency and it would be years before Rose would be able to replicate those numbers. But thanks to endless perseverance and fierce determination, Rose managed to keep his career alive and he would return to the Knicks in 2021 to reunite with his former Bulls coach, Tom Thibodeau. 

For Rose, perseverance is really the story of his career, given the countless injuries to his body. As a former MVP, the collapse of Derrick's body took a major toll on his game but he's been able to recover like nobody else and his story continues to be a shining example of how hard work is the biggest way for players to maximize their career. This season, at 35, Rose is no doubt at the twilight of his NBA journey but nobody will forget the way he came back from rock bottom.

Derrick Rose Is The Biggest "What If" In NBA History

It can be easy to forget just how great Derrick Rose was in his prime. During his MVP season in 2011 (the youngest winner in league history), Rose averaged 25.0 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game on 44.5% shooting. As an athletic freak of nature, Rose was unstoppable around the rim and his high-flying plays had the entire NBA community in utter awe. At the height of his powers, the Bulls were also one of the top teams in the East and were seen as a legitimate title threat.

It was early in the 2012 playoffs that Rose suffered his first major injury -- an ACL tear in his left knee. Rose would miss the entirety of the following season, but it was just the beginning of a career-long injury battle that nearly pushed him out of the NBA for good. Over the years, however, Rose learned to adapt to his limitations and he experienced a revival with the Timberwolves (famously scoring 50 points) that saved his career. In hindsight, Rose made the most of the circumstances he was given and most would have given up years ago. So the fact that the 3x All-Star is still active in the league today, despite his complicated history, is an accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated and recognized by every NBA fan. It's obviously something that Rose takes pride in, given how close he was to quitting back when he was at his lowest point.