Rose enters rare air as he joins Jordan, Pippen, Sloan and Love as only Bulls with retired numbers

CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick Rose figured he would experience all sorts of emotions when he saw his banner hang from the rafters. They started flowing long before the moment arrived.

The Chicago Bulls retired his No. 1 following their win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night. And the kid who went from growing up in a rough South Side neighborhood to starring for his hometown team was ready for the moment.

“I had someone or a journalist ask me, ‘Man, did you cry?’ I told him I cry every day,” Rose said. "And he asked about what. Being joyful, knowing where I grew up, knowing my coming back here, my being practical with knowing the economy, with me being there, and the neighborhoods. And you just know.

"That’s one of the reasons why I came back, is to curate things and to employ people.”

Rose joined Michael Jordan (23), Scottie Pippen (33), Jerry Sloan (4) and Bob Love (10) as the only players whose numbers have been retired by the team.

He shed tears during emotional speeches by former teammates Taj Gibson, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah and by coach Tom Thibodeau. He got choked up when he addressed his mother and older brothers as well as his wife, two sons and daughter. There were hugs and smiles, too, when the banner was unveiled.

Rose had already gotten a glimpse at it. On Friday, the Bulls posted video on social media of him seeing it for the first time.

Rose said seeing the banner was “unreal.” But it hadn't really sunk in.

“All this, the moment, I’m still trying to take in, I’m still trying to process in real time,” he said. “And yeah, and just feeling grateful, you know what I mean? Like knowing the weather conditions out there, knowing that it’s a Chicago thing to even show up here, to fight through that and still go to an event. It’s huge, so it’s something that I’m grateful for.”

The video the Bulls posted shows a wide-eyed Rose walking out to center court. He lets out a “wow, are you serious?” as he gazes at the unfurled banner in front of the scorer's table. He squats, walks over and touches it, rubbing his hand over the No. 1. He's then joined by his family as well as former teammates Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Kirk Hinrich.

Noah says in the video seeing Rose's number raised to the rafters “is our championship moment.”

On Saturday, there were black Rose jerseys at each seat. The Bulls posted video from Jordan and Pippen congratulating him. Rose left roses from his flower shop — Rose's Flower Shop — in both teams' locker rooms before the game.

“He instilled that heart, he instilled that trust in us and that made us come out and fight for you every single night,” Gibson told the crowd.

Former coach Tom Thibodeau called Rose “a basketball savant" whose humility is what really made him stand out.

“The next stop, in my opinion, is the Hall of Fame and there is no doubt about that,” he said.

This isn't the first time the team honored Rose. The Bulls did it when they played New York on Jan. 4, 2025, symbolizing the date as well as the numbers he wore with the Bulls as well as the Knicks and Chicago's Simeon Career Academy. That same day, the Bulls announced they would retire Rose's jersey.

Rose, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, went from being Rookie of the Year to an All-Star to NBA MVP in his first three seasons. He remains the league’s youngest MVP, winning it when he was 22.

A major knee injury during the 2012 playoffs forced him to miss almost two full seasons and he contemplated stepping away from the game several times following other injury issues.

Rose averaged 17.4 points and 5.2 assists in 723 regular-season games. He averaged 21 points per game before the ACL tear 12 years ago and 15.1 per game in the seasons that followed. But he doesn't dwell on what might have been.

At 37, Rose is more focused on his family and business interests, like an online flower shop and employing people from the city. Or his work promoting participation in chess, particularly among at-rise youngsters. He's not all that interested in working in basketball.

“Everybody thinks the the path or the motif was, 'All right, after you get done, you gotta go back and be around basketball,'” he said. “I didn’t want that. I wanted to curate things or be in lanes that nobody was in. Coming from Chicago, when you tend to enter lanes that people are in, you step on toes and certain things can happen.

"So with me having that in mind, I wanted curate things so that I don’t have to worry about any competition.”

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Former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose, talks during a press conference before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. Rose's jersey will be retired after the game today. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

Former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose, center, laughs while talking with writer Sam Smith, right, after a press conference, before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. Rose's jersey will be retired after the game today. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

Former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose, smiles after a press conference before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

Chicago Bulls guard Kevin Huerter walks into United Center wearing a jersey for former player Derrick Rose before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

Former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose, left, fist bumps fans before an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Chicago. Rose's jersey will be retired after the game today. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Second-ranked Arizona and seventh-ranked Iowa State traded shot-for-shot down the stretch in their Big 12 Tournament semifinal Friday night, and it seemed almost inevitable that whichever team had the ball last would win.

It wound up in the hands of Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley with a few seconds left in a tie game.

He made the inevitable happen.

Bradley drove to his right as Cyclones guard Killyan Toure guarded him tightly, created just enough space to get off a jumper from the wing, and watched it splash through as his teammates engulfed him to give Arizona a heart-stopping 82-80 victory.

“It was a great game. An epic battle. And I respect Iowa State so much,” said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, whose team is headed to its second consecutive Big 12 title game. “I thought they played really well today. Their shot-making was different than when we played them 10 days ago. They're a good team and were a good version of themselves and they really made us dig deep.”

The Wildcats (31-2) certainly showed off their depth with Anthony Dell’Orso matching a career-best with six 3-pointers and scoring 26 points off the bench. Bradley finished with 15, Ivan Kharchenkov had 17 points and Tobe Awaka added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Together, they made up for an off-night by All-Big 12 guard Brayden Burries, who was 0 for 7 from the field and had just three points, and likely first-round draft pick Koa Peat, who finished with four points while turning the ball over four times.

“We've got so many guys that can get it going any night,” Bradley said.

He's one of them.

The game seemed to be headed to overtime after Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey, who had been 1 of 10 from the field and battling a sore groin, hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 15.2 seconds to go. Lloyd chose not to call a timeout and Bradley calmly walked up the floor with the ball, moving his teammates where he wanted them as if he was one of the coaches.

Then he drove to his right. Toure went with him. And with just enough air on his shot, it swished for the win.

“A lot of times we would call a timeout late from a defensive standpoint,” Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “Look, at the end of the day, Killyan guarded Bradley as perfect as you can guard him. Bradley is a winning player, a fierce competitor.”

It was a fitting finish to a dramatic showdown between two teams capable of winning the national championship.

Milan Momcilovic matched a career high with eight 3-pointers and led the Cyclones (27-7) with 28 points. All-Big 12 forward Joshua Jefferson had 21 points, Toure finished with 12 and Lipsey had eight points along with seven assists.

It was a really intense game, and all credit to them," Jefferson said. “They just hit a tough shot to end the game.”

The Wildcats were able to weather a 14-5 run by Iowa State to start the game, and even pulled ahead 37-34 with a 9-0 run of their own late in the first half. But the Cyclones took the momentum into halftime when Momcilovic hit a trio of 3-pointers over the final 1:23, including a buzzer-beater after an Arizona turnover with a couple seconds on the clock.

The two teams continued to trade blows during the second half, and at one point, Dell’Orso and Momcilovic answered each other's 3s on four consecutive trips down the floor. In all, the teams hit 11 of their final 13 shots — seven of them 3-pointers.

“It was just a real fun game,” Momcilovic said. “Down the stretch it was bucket after bucket.”

The crowd of 19,450 packed inside T-Mobile Center, a single-session record for the Big 12 Tournament, roared with every hoop, giving the game the feeling of a Final Four matchup before the NCAA Tournament even begins next week.

Arizona wound up winning. But it was hard to call Iowa State a loser.

“We have tremendous belief in the guys in our locker room, the work they do every day,” Otzelberger said. “We really respect Arizona and their program, but just like they're a Final Four contender, so are we. We have big things ahead of us starting next week.”

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Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (13) gets past Iowa State forward Blake Buchanan (23) to put up a shot during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Arizona's Jaden Bradley celebrates after making the game-winning shot at the buzzer to defeat Iowa State during an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)