CHICAGO — Miami Heat guard Klay Thompson was teammates with Chicago Bulls legend Derrick Rose on the 2014 Team USA FIBA World Cup Team.
Thompson, who was on the Golden State Warriors in 2014, found out very quickly just how popular Rose was.
Klay Thompson says prime D-Rose’s fame was up there with Kobe, LeBron, and D-Wade 👀🔥 (Via @TheNBPA ) pic.twitter.com/gJA55m5mQS
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 9, 2026
Rose retired from the NBA before the start of the 2024-25 season. He played for the Bulls, New York Knicks (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies.
The 2010-11 MVP, Rose appeared in 723 NBA games. He averaged 17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks per game and made three All-Star teams and one All-NBA team. The Chicago native also won the 2009 Rookie of the Year award.
Rose is the youngest MVP in NBA history. His No. 1 jersey was retired by the Bulls last season.
LeBron On Rose
On a December 2025 episode of his podcast with Hall of Famer Steve Nash, LeBron James opened up about prime Rose.
James and Nash answered questions from fans, and one fan asked James what prime Rose was like.
“I hope and I hope dearly people have not forgotten about Derrick Rose,” James said. “One of the most explosive players that I’ve ever played. One of the most competitive players I ever played. Injuries suck. They really do. And he’s one of those examples. We have a lot of examples in our sport obviously over the years since this game has been introduced. But the battles that I had against D-Rose when I was in Miami, when I went back to Cleveland, the guy, I think he’s the youngest, if people don’t know, he’s the youngest MVP in our league’s history.
“And what he meant for the Chicago Bulls, he meant even more for the city of Chicago in whole. And he’s a legend. He’s a great and we all love Derrick Rose. If you have ever played basketball, have ever been a part of our league, there’s not one bad thing people could say about Derrick Rose. He was an unbelievable competitor. So we love Derrick Rose man.”
Rose finished his Bulls career with averages of 19.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. He’s ninth in franchise history in field goals, fifth in assists, ninth in points per game and 11th in points.
