NEAR WEST SIDE — Chicago is honoring native son and retired NBA star Derrick Rose ahead of his jersey retirement ceremony this week — and he is giving a preview of his life here after his legendary basketball career.
The Bulls are retiring Rose’s jersey during Saturday night’s game against the Boston Celtics at the United Center. Rose’s No. 1 will be the fifth number retired by the team after Jerry Sloan’s 4, Bob Love’s 10, Michael Jordan’s 23 and Scottie Pippen’s 33.
Tickets for Saturday night’s highly anticipated game and jersey retirement ceremony start at $199.
To mark the jersey retirement, Rose has been front and center in the city, where he has been honored in a variety of ways: a mural unveiling, the return of his flower shop and a coming retail collection.
Rose, an Englewood native who moved back to Chicago in his retirement, described these new ventures as exploring a side of him that basketball couldn’t express. They are a preview of sorts to his life post-basketball, he said Friday at a mural dedication in his honor.
“You can’t put any boundaries on me. I don’t see any boxes, and I never want to be held down,” Rose said. “Basketball was holding me back in a way where, creative-wise, I was put into a box.”
Here are four ways the city and the Bulls are honoring Rose ahead of his jersey retirement.
The Bulls and After School Matters unveiled a mural titled “Home Court of Dreams,” dedicated to Rose at the afterschool program’s new teen center at 1065 N. Orleans St. in Cabrini-Green.
The Bulls and After School Matters unveiled a mural titled “Home Court of Dreams,” dedicated to Rose at the afterschool program’s new teen center at 1065 N. Orleans St. in Cabrini-Green. Credit: Michael Liptrot/Block Club Chicago
‘Home Court of Dreams’ Mural
On Friday, the Bulls and After School Matters unveiled a mural, “Home Court of Dreams,” dedicated to Rose at the after-school program’s new teen center at 1065 N. Orleans St. in Cabrini-Green.
The NBA team contributed to the center’s capital campaign, according to team officials. Artist Dwight White worked with After School Matters’ students to create the mural depicting children in Bulls apparel, the city skyline and Rose’s Flower Shop — another recent development by the NBA star — all presented over a blanket of clouds and roses.
The mural adorns the after-school center’s gym, which also sports custom backboards decorated in honor of Rose, who grew up in Englewood before becoming a sensation at Simeon Career Academy en route to being picked first overall in the NBA draft by his hometown Bulls.
The Bulls and After School Matters unveiled a mural titled “Home Court of Dreams,” dedicated to Rose at the afterschool program’s new teen center at 1065 N. Orleans St. in Cabrini-Green.
The Bulls and After School Matters unveiled a mural titled “Home Court of Dreams,” dedicated to Rose at the afterschool program’s new teen center at 1065 N. Orleans St. in Cabrini-Green. Credit: Provided, Chicago Bulls
Students who worked to contribute to the mural’s direction sought to use the opportunity to change the narrative around Chicago.
“Chicago is a city that notoriously has a bad reputation. … Chicago is painted in a way where we’re seen as violent. … I don’t want people to think that about my city,” said Hasani Washington, a 17-year-old advanced visual arts student at After School Matters’ Gately Park location in Pullman. “I think that [advice] very much showcases in this beautiful art piece.”
The Bulls and After School Matters unveiled a mural titled “Home Court of Dreams,” dedicated to Rose at the afterschool program’s new teen center at 1065 N. Orleans St. in Cabrini-Green.
The Bulls and After School Matters unveiled a mural titled “Home Court of Dreams,” dedicated to Rose at the afterschool program’s new teen center at 1065 N. Orleans St. in Cabrini-Green. Credit: Michael Liptrot/Block Club
Student Art Gallery To Be Displayed At United Center
In addition to the mural, students of After School Matters created art dedicated to Rose that will be displayed in the atrium of the United Center on Rose’s jersey retirement night Saturday.
The art, which was previewed at the mural unveiling, depicts images from Rose’s career and history in Chicago, including a painting of him accepting the NBA MVP award.
Teens in After School Matters’ welding program made metal roses, in addition to other Bull-centric pieces.
“I never thought I’d have a mural, but at the same time, the story correlates because I’m a collector. I love art. … So when people talk about collecting [art], I can actually say now I have a mural,” Rose said. “That’s one of the reasons why I retired, to show that I’m an artist.”
Rose’s Flower Shop
Last week, Rose announced the return of Rose’s Flower Shop, an online flower pop-up business. Marketed as being family-owned and -operated, the shop launched with a video of Rose, his children, wife, mother and others working in a shop setting.
The online shop accepts orders on Sundays and delivers the bouquets via FedEx. It primarily offers 12-stem bouquets of roses of various colors, including Chicago red, a white color titled “Morning on Michigan” and an orange “Summertime Chi” color. Bouquets sell for $90.
For the store’s first Sunday drop, a launch pop-up event was held, limited to the first 300 attendees. Social media videos showed Rose greeting fans and handing out roses at Sunday’s event.
Rose previously launched a one-day pop-up shop named Rose’s where he provided free flowers and met fans.
The Bulls announced an exclusive, co-branded retail collection with Rose, titled The Rose Collection, featuring items including a hoodie, letterman jacket and several shirts.
The Bulls announced an exclusive, co-branded retail collection with Rose, titled The Rose Collection, featuring items including a hoodie, letterman jacket and several shirts. Credit: Provided, Chicago Bulls
The Rose Collection, Exclusive Bulls Apparel
On Tuesday, the Bulls announced an exclusive, co-branded retail collection with Rose, titled The Rose Collection, featuring items including a hoodie, letterman jacket and several shirts. Items will be available starting Saturday in the United Center’s Madhouse Team Store at the stadium’s east atrium.
Prices for items range from $40 for a basketball up to $350 for letterman jackets. Items will be available in limited quantities when the United Center opens to the public 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, and the entire collection becomes available in-store and online when gates open 5 p.m. that day.
“The Bulls collaborated closely with Rose throughout the design process to reflect his career, Chicago roots and iconic moments on and off the court,” the team said in a statement.
Learn more on the Rose Collection at shop.bulls.com.
The collection comes a week after Adidas announced it would re-release Rose’s first signature shoe with the apparel brand, named the AdiZero Rose 1, to coincide with the jersey retirement. The shoes, which features Bulls’ primary colors of black and red, retail for $130.
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