Derrick Rose, do not call him "what if"

Yesterday afternoon, a few days before his 36th birthday, Derrick Rose officially announced his retirement from basketball. A few hours after the cryptic video surfaced on his Instagram profile that alarmed his nearly two million followers and the entire NBA world, the Chicago native confided his parting words from basketball to The Athletic: "my next chapter will have me pursuing new dreams," Rose explained, "and sharing the accomplishments I've achieved with others. I believe that true success is about becoming the person you are meant to be, and I now want to show the world that my impact extends beyond basketball."

The adidas signature sneakers

So hanging up the proverbial shoes: an expression that, in his case, inevitably has a different flavour. The former Grizzlies player - the last jersey he wore on the court, although he will be remembered for his Chicago Bulls jersey - had a generational impact on the basketball coaching universe, which is well documented by the long list of signature shoes marketed by adidas. With the first model, he became the youngest player ever to be named Most Valuable Player of the regular season at the age of just 22. With the latest line, launched in 2020, he joins the small club of players who have reached double figures in this regard (he is joined by Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul, with Kevin Durant to come). There are eleven in total, and even more if you take into account the mid-season models and other shoes from the D-Rose line such as the 773 and the Son Of Chi.

The connection to adidas began with his entry into the NBA as the first pick in the 2008 Draft and became even more pronounced after the 2011 MVP, which was followed by the historic signing of a 14-year, $190 million contract with the German brand. It was the moment when Rose, who already ruled the hearts of Bulls Nation, stepped up as the possible heir to Jordan to reclaim the title that had been missing from Illinois since the 1990s; he had taken the genetic baton from Allen Iverson as a point of reference for younger generations after wresting the sceptre of the earliest MVP ever from him; and along with Coach Thibodeau's Bulls, he had just launched a challenge to James and Wade's Heat for Eastern Conference supremacy. None of that ever came to fruition.

The tragic turning point of his career was 28 April 2012, a date that still sends shivers down the United Centre's spine today: the day of Game 1 against Philadelphia, when Rose tore the ACL in his left knee. An injury that had a before and an after in his and the Bulls' recent history, a traumatic turning point for the army of “followers” he had moulded, one spectacular highlight after another. The explosive point guard, who until that night had been an irresistible draw for fans and a magnet for industry brands, would never return.

The following season, adidas commercials - memorably "The Return" - fuelled the wait, but it would not be quenched for seventeen months (October 2013). And after just ten games, his knee - this time the right one - tore again: injury to the medial meniscus, surgery, final end to his rise to the Olympus of star basketball: from this moment on, the second part of his career basically began.

The many injuries

D-Rose had to adapt his game to a physique that was nowhere near the speed of his pre-injury engine. However, his popularity with the public never waned. So did adidas' commitment to an athlete who, despite everything, was always held up as an example of perseverance and work ethic. In a way, the entire NBA world has felt Rose's fight against fate as their own and rejoiced as he reinvented himself as a reliable veteran off the bench at the end of his career after passing 30; even going so far as to become the object of desire of title teams and a candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award. In October 2018, he scored his career-high in a Timberwolves jersey - coached by Thibodeau, just like old times - fifty points, round numbers. Tears accompanied his touching post-game speech. ‘I worked my arse off, I put my heart into it, I worked hard every day. This means everything to me.

In the hours following the announcement of his resignation, this speech circulated again on the internet and social networks. Along with his slam dunks and even pictures from that damn night in 2012, there was talk again about his contract with adidas and what it could have meant for the brand, for Chicago and for the entire NBA in the years to come if injuries had allowed it. And as always, when it comes to Derrick Rose, the phrase "what if" is abused.

Perhaps it would be fairer to honour what he was, despite the adversity he faced, rather than the player he failed to develop into. His brand and the icon he represented for an entire generation have largely survived the injuries, and his basketball journey may still have surprising pages to write. Derrick himself asks us to lay down our arms against fate and accept it as we see it. for better or for worse," The Athletic says, "everyone has a moment in their life when they think about it: what could have happened if... But even if I could, I wouldn't change anything about my life: It's made me the person I am today".