Derrick Rose on LeBron James’ decision to join the Sixers: “I’m out of the game. Happy for him, but that’s not my life no more.”
“I don’t work here anymore”
Probably more common than one might realise under this level of athletes. These guys dedicate decades of their entire life to their craft and after they are done as an athlete, they seek out other interests. Either because they want to entirely close that book or from simply being burned out from all those years of near non stop focus on that one thing.
So many of them don’t even touch the basketball for years because they’re either hurt or too good for casual games or just straight up tired of it.
Barkley just said this week that it doesn’t do anything for him to play against randoms after he played against Kareem.
Paraphrasing: “Y’all think I’m going to go out there and get after a guy who just spent 10 hours plumbing?”
Also if his team loses they are all disappointed, but if he wins then no one is impressesed.
Probably why athletes pick up golf like he has
Nobody’s ever “too good” at golf. You could be a PGA pro skill level and play in the same group as a double digit handicapper no problem
Would be interesting if someone took up street skating instead. No stats, no competition. Just security trying to kick out a 6’6” millionaire from a spot.
Mike Green is a former NFL player who skates now. It’s pretty cool seeing a giant dude boardslide down a rail.
Skating would be the last sport I expect a pro to pick. Skating is terrifying and looks awful on the knees. That dude is badass
I wonder how many decks he’s snapped!
genuinely this makes a lot of sense to me. very happy to have read this. it definitely grounds them again and makes them all feel “human” again which is something they likely crave, also allows for it to be a great social environment with peers
Especially because stuff like the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the American Century Championship exist. There is still a dedicated space for them to compete where they can see how they truly measure up.
You can see athletes in interviews talk about wanting to win those kinds of tournaments just as badly as they wanted to win championships in their previous athletic careers.
Jordan used to say golf was harder than basketball, so not super shocked
And he said most them pick-up guys play like it’s game 7 of the finals and he doesn’t wanna deal with that level of jabroni. I’m sure if people could just be fuckin normal he might do it from time to time.
At the same time unless you play with them regularly it’s hard not to want to go all out when you’re sharing the court with a basketball legend.
Played one on one with TJ Ford years ago, around 2005-6. It was a chill game, mostly because it was apparent almost immediately that no matter how hard I tried, TJ on cruise control was still absolutely frying me. Lost 21-2.
Hell yeah.
I remember walking in central park and some dick was having a meltdown at the volleyball court because his teammate didn’t make a shot in a casual pickup game. Some people are insufferable.
I have every confidence I could have a fun game of Horse with Charles Barkley. Just keep things low stakes. Nobody’s gonna post up on anybody in a game of Horse. If I win, I get to ride on his TV tour bus. If I lose, I get to ride on his TV tour bus.
Exactly. It honestly sounded more like he personally doesn’t want to engage with the specific crowd at his gym and used the opportunity to humble brag about what a legend he is. And I mean fair enough. he earned the right to brag.
My dad lived across the street from a guy who was on China’s 72 Olympic Basketball Team. Dude was in his 50s at the time and still shot hoops every day. He still had it.
This is true for even D1 athletes…can’t imagine pro burnout.
Ken Griffey Jr. became a professional photographer. He started bringing a camera to his kids sporting events because if he looked like he was busy taking pictures people wouldn’t come up and bother him, and he was able to actually focus on his kids. Then he realized he actually liked it alot and was pretty good at it, and ended up being one of the official photographers at the Masters golf tournament this past year.
Randy Johnson also made a second career of photography.
He got back into it. But Randy was doing the photography thing before pro ball. He’s got some epic concert pics from the early 80’s on his instagram.
Marshawn Lynch too
Something in the water in Seattle?
It’s not just elite athletes. Growing up playing a sport competitively leaves no time for education or socializing, so even people who didn’t make it to the top have burnout.
Yep! My best friend through childhood was one of the best baseball players I’d ever seen. He played baseball all throughout high school, played summer leagues, in the winter he was doing batting cage work, played at Florida state for four years, drafted by the Braves in the 6th round, spent 5 years in single A, made it to double a, spent 3 years playing double a. Tore his acl during offseason workouts, never regained the same form, got sent back to single an and then retired. Didn’t play any type of organized sports until 6 years after he retired and I convinced him to play slow pitch softball. He was by far the best player and made everything look so easy. He played one season with us. He said all it does for him is brings back the memories of what could have been.
The grind of the minors is brutal for people especially single A. Even if you’re great enough to get to AAA, you’re still living with a bunch of guys or a host family hoping to God you get called up.
Not just burnout, I was never even close to being good enough to play for a good college team but I did play for a high school with one of the absolute best basketball programs in my region and even then one of the issues that I’m sure a lot of people who played organized ball even at that relatively low level will agree with is that it’s tough to play against guys who don’t play within a structure. Pick-up becomes really boring and unintuitive when you’re used to running actual plays, playing team defense, and competing for something. I can’t imagine how actual pro athletes or even top level college athletes feel.
Damn. this is why folks like MJ are pretty “special” in the sense that they’ll compete for anything - even if literally only their pride is on the line. Takes a certain insane drive to be that competitive i suppose
I imagine the same feeling for top-tier poker players against average level. Sure, they can probably clean up, but it’s got to be very much like dumpster-diving.
It’s not just elite athletes imo. I was fortunate to play Division I (not basketball to be fair), and if I’m not playing with my kids or coaching their teams, I don’t really play the sport anymore. While it’s not the same as someone like Barkley, I understand what he’s saying. If my teams wins, it’s expected, and if we lose, I have failed. There is also a bit of people gun for you because they want that moment that they beat you, there’s not much benefit to me to play. However, if my children want me to play, I am out there with them!
I work at the same company my retired dad worked at. Almost 30 years. He has no interest in my work stories lol
I work in health care. Friends or patients ask me if i watch the Pitt. I do this shit for a living. Im not gonna watch more of this crap when i get home from work.
I skip the swear words with patients. I add extra swear words with friends
Lol a lot of current and former kitchen workers I know refuse to watch The Bear cause its just work PTSD.
I work in healthcare, albeit as a physio not a doctor and still love medical shows. But on more than one occasion i’ve had to tell my wife to pick a different show to put on because i’m all “hospital’d out”
It’s either this or the ones that can’t live without it and keep trying to stay involved in some capacity
I don’t know I played in a pickup league with some random ex nba players and they sure loved reigning threes over us common folk 😂
Is that you, Miguel Jordan
Derrick Rose has been cool to me at every age as I’ve gotten older. He was cool as a college player. Cool as a young dunk machine. Cool as an MVP. Cool as a guy trying to get back from injury. Cool as a vet. Cool off the bench giving the Knicks great minutes. Cool as a father. Cool as a retiree. Cool not giving AF about this question cooking up some food. Stay cool D Rose.
Damn, brother needs a stuffed jacket and a warm cocoa with all that cool.
Cooler than Freddie Jackson sippin’ a milkshake in a snowstorm.
Cooler than a polar bears toenails (oh hell)
/I see you
Remember to zip it back up once you’re done.
W4ZZUP has been cool to me at every age as I’ve gotten older. He was cool as a college redditor. Cool as a young moderator. Cool as an MVP. Cool as a guy trying to get back from temp bans. Cool as a vet. Cool off the bench giving this sub great minutes. Cool as an upvoter. Cool as a retiree. Cool not giving AF about this question cooking up some food. Stay cool W4ZZUP.
We men, you can assume
Pretty cool as an alleged rapist as well
you right..100%
Rose says this the same week he’s announced as a cover athlete for the leagues video game.
I hit my manager at BK with this one time.
New guy took over, I was 16, and he was a real piece of shit, pretty blatantly trying to push all the young people out. I gave my two weeks, and when it came time for my shift the next day, my friends asked to hang out and at that age I’d rather do that so I went in and told him I actually quit. He said, “I thought you were giving your two weeks, what about your shift in 2 hours?” And I said, “I don’t know John, I don’t work here anymore” and left
I’ve never been so close to being like a former MVP
Guys like Rose have to look at Bron like a different species. He’s YEARS younger and out the league, was in his tier at his peak and Bron is still going
He doesn’t even care
Gotta admit, I respect that a lot
Probably has to block it off for his own mental. I’d have needed years of therapy if I went through what DRose did.
Good for him if he really doesn’t care, but the decade after his injury was probably crazy hard, and dwelling on it now instead of moving on would be the natural move
You could look at it that way. Or you could look at it as, he’s a kid who grew up in poverty and now has millions while the city he grew up in loves him. All things considered he’s living a great life and maybe he’s choosing to look at it that way.
That’s a fair view but there’s this one interview that is just stuck in my head whenever Drose comes up. It was a video of him trying to rehab from his injury and he was asked about his comeback and he said something along the lines of “why can’t it be me” and it just sounded like he was so heartbroken over his injury and wanted to be great at all cost only to have it ruined
I think regardless of his history of poverty, when you work hard for something only to realize it’ll never be you, it gotta break you in some way
Thought he only said why can’t it be me when he called his MVP before 2011?
He got the bag. I’m sure he cares about that. Respect to guys like LeBron and Curry and those who stick around after playing to continue to keep us entertained after all these years even after securing generational wealth.
We don’t appreciate what he’s doing
He literally committed all of his free time outside of his family to his health, basketball and a few glasses of wine since he was 15⁄16.
and Space Jam 2.
and taco tuesday
It’ll never stop being funny to me that LeBron tried to trademark “Taco Tuesday” like he invented it lol.
My grandpa found out at like age 70 that he didn’t invent the word “S’mores” hahahaha
TACO TUUUUUUESDAY
AY YAY YA YA YA YA
[removed]
nah, people “hate” him for two reasons:
He’s arguably the greatest player ever in a beautiful sport but his game isn’t nearly as beautiful or elegant as the other guy (Jordan). see also: djokovic and federer, ronaldo and messi
He’s often corny, disingenuous, and egomaniaca Passive aggressively blames teammates, amplifies the media circus around his free agency decisions, carries books around that he doesn’t read, creates an unlistenable podcast about his own brilliance, etc etc
You left out politics. Ask any conservative boomer what they think of LeBron and they’ll have nothing good to say, but their reasons for disliking him are entirely political and have nothing to do with basketball.
My dad is incapable of having an objective conversation about the guy lol
I agree with all this, and I’m a huge Bron fan. I’ll watch any games he’s in but by God I can’t listen to him speak, it’s too performative.
Or his silence on China when they were cracking down hard on Hong Kong…
He’s an NBA player. Why would anyone give a fuck about his opinion on China and Hong Kong
Because it’s hypocritical for one month to talk about equality and bring up politics etc, then go visit China and experience the other inequality and suddenly too scared to say anything about it
He wasn’t just silent, nobody would’ve gave a shit if he was silent. He actively discouraged other people in the league from speaking out about it because it was inconvenient for him, and acted like he was the victim in the situation.
That’s the hypocrisy. It’s not that he has to speak out about every cause because he speaks out about one. It’s that he speaks out for his cause and then told others to shut up about theirs because he doesn’t care about it and doesn’t want it to impact his bottom line.
For the record, he’s still a better human being than Kobe and MJ. But with stuff like this you can see why he’s rubbed some people the wrong way over the years.
Yeah, being both graceful and great at the same time is rare. When you think of Jordan, that image pops into your head—him switching hands mid-air on that layup after pulling the ball back. So smooth.
and yesjulz
And hated for it by a chunk of nba fans
When i was a younger man I was a hater I won’t lie. As I got older I realized I was witnessing multi-generational greatness and you cant really be mad at that.
It was the same for me with Tom Brady. At a certain point it just becomes entertaining and impressive even if you’re a rival fan.
Same and same. At some point, I realized I’m watching something I may not see again for a long time
We are coming upon the end of LeBron, Curry and Durant. Kinda sad.
[their careers]
I’ll never forget Bron dominating KG and my team 22 years ago.
Yeah, your statement tracks.
I’m the same but I have different lenses for Lebron and Brady.
When I view LeBron, I think: yeah he didn’t hit every step smoothly, but he did things the right way, worked his ass off, stayed dedicated to his passion and his family, and showed us what’s possible when you maximize your God-given talents. I wish I could be like that.
When I view Brady, I think: dude wasn’t the most athletic or skilled, but he worked his ass off to a psychopathic degree to achieve his success. He is absolutely the GOAT because he did what it took to get there, sacrificing everything, family included. I am absolutely ok with never being on his level.
Both are the GOATs to me and I’m ok if that’s wrong. All time greats.
Was born in ‘93 so only remember Wizards Jordan
That was me with Kobe, was hating because I didn’t like the lakers. When he passed it changed my perspective on witnessing all time greats and appreciating what you are seeing.
That being said, fuck tom Brady (from a lifelong Bills fan)
for good reason.
and a few glasses of wine
that’s why i call him derrick rosé
Why would you call LeBron that
oh i thought we were talking about derrick
You say that like he’s doing it for free and our benefit.
I am not a fan of LeBron or any of the teams he played for but it is ridiculous that he is still playing at a high level. It is similar to Tom Brady that many say a lot of shit while playing and then once he retires, people are like, you know what, that guy was pretty good.
I don’t think guys like d rose cares lol
All the replies being weirdly pedantic about YEARS.
But D.Rose was NEVER in Lebron’s tier. Even MVP Rose. Never.
D.Rose has to look a Lebron like a different species because they were never even close.
[deleted]
The fuck are we talking about. Lebron is an all-time great baller. Literally top 2 debate.
Derrick was one of my favorite players, and a flash in the pan. Can’t even say he was a generational talent because of his health issues. Even at his best, he was the best player on a great defensive team.
He never beat Lebron. Never. Came close. Didn’t. Then his prime ended with a freak knee injury a year or two removed from his MVP year.
When Lebron played D on Rose, Rose just couldn’t do anything. Being guarded by the most athletic player on the planet will do that lol.
Yup. Agreed.
I’d never take away Rose’s MVP year because it was really special and I think he truly deserved it that year. The Bulls team was phenomenal, and he showed incredible leadership at, like, 20 years old or whatever he was.
But it’s also fair to acknowledge that Lebron was so obviously the best player in the league and the reason he didn’t get another was MVP fatigue and The Decision backlash.
Yeah because he was the only one they had to worry about while Heat had two other superstars. Of LeBron is on a different tier but that’s like LeBron playing against the Spurs in his first title run.
Lmao I said the EXACT same thing
People will tell you how Bron against the 07 Spurs doesn’t count because he was young etc, yet go on and on about how great he was for beating Rose and his Bulls when Rose was in his 3rd year and hold it against Rose
Bron looked even worse than Rose did in the 07 Finals. Bruce Bowen had him in a torture chamber
Rose was in his 3rd year in the league. Yal saying all this nonsensical stuff about a player who never even reached his prime going up against a vet at his peak along with another vet at/near his peak, on a team that would win 2⁄4 Finals
Crazy
Rose played 3 seasons bruh. “Even at his best”, you mean his 3rd year? Was Bron the best player in the league his 3rd year? Are yal listening to yourselves?
He won MVP his 3rd year. He was clearly a generational talent, and you’d know that had you followed him at all throughout his career leading to the NBA as well as pre-ACL tear
MVP Rose could never beat Lebron. Lebron was always at a different level. Doesn’t mean Rose wasn’t a beast, just means he was never an all time great.
I mean both being an MVP made them in the same tier at the time I’d say. Not full career of course. So maybe only a year or 2 for rose
I don’t think it’s that deep. D. Rose has always seemed like someone who has other interests in life. Every former athlete doesn’t have to be an analyst or a podcaster. I played a sport for a very long time, at a high level. But over time, I retired physically and mentally from it. I love my sport, respect it, it’s a part of my life. But I have also moved on toward other interests.
Guys like Rose have to look at Bron like a different species.
99% of the NBA player base have to look at Bron like a different species.
And most of em don’t care at all
Like to put it into perspective, D Rose was in his prime at the end or middle of Lebron’s first prime. Hes had 2 more, possibly 3 more primes after that.
hes like 4 years younger.
He was never in Brons tier
Not only that Bron single-handily shut down MVP Derrick Rose. So at his very best he couldn’t do anything with LeBron. I, too would pretend that shit is in the past and needs to stay there.
“Let’s see what Ja Rule has to say about this”
Someone find Ja
Where’s ja 😭
In Portland
“Help me Ja Rule”
#Someone find this mfker so I can make sense in all of this!
“Let’s see what Ja Morant has to say about this”
Ja Rule: IDGAF
I don’t wanna dance, I’m scared to death.
Yeah that’s cool and all. But let me see what kind of burgers Rose is grilling up. I might need a foot long shaboingboing as well if he’s grilling them.
I was wondering what he was doing. When he said “that not my life anymore” and I’m looking at him in that apron outside, I’m asking myself what is your life now? chef? blacksmith?
I think he was hosting an event for his Flower shop he owns with his family
Flower seller seems almost too obvious
Rose & Rose Roses and Co.
He deserves his flowers
Plot twist: Derrick Rose invests in the Blazers and pledges to keep them in Portland, but only if they rename the Moda Center the Rose Garden.
Rose’s Roses
https://wgntv.com/sports/bulls/derrick-rose-celebrates-nba-2k27-cover-with-2k-flower-mart-at-navy-pier/
y’all aren’t nosy enough. One of the pillars of my marriage is my wife and I are nosy as shit. Even her friends call me to google something for them about their exes. This was childsplay.
that’s love right there
Oh god, same.
What a dreadful thing to be proud of lmao
oh no tell the pearl factory to work overtime. this guy has clutched his pearls so much he’s gonna need some more pearls.
Honestly lol the worst kind of people to be around and a married duo at that. Nightmare
D Rose running a flower shop, handing out roses. It was destiny.
“Derick Rose retires from Basketball, becomes Apprentice Blacksmith” would be a hard headline
Similar already happened in Chicago - Charles Tillman retires from football, becomes FBI agent.
”Hey Derrick, how could I get better at BBQ like you?” ”Skill yourself”
”Hey Derrick, how could I get better at BBQ like you?”
”Skill yourself”
Funniest part of this comment is that no one even questions it. Everyone agrees.
Shaboingboing is mental lol
He’s not making burgers, he’s selling roses
Rose was literally the Rookie MVP from Chicago that was destined to dethrone Bron as King of the East, and give Jordan/The Bulls a fighting chance at protecting their legacy from my LePookie Bear 🥰🥰🥰
Rose has been retired for years at this point and Bron is still goin 😭
The D that never Rose 🥀
A Story of Erectile Dysfunction 😢
Derricktile Dysfunction
The limp Knick
Lmfao y’all wrong for this
We men.
Son 😭
The Bull that couldn’t last long enough
Bruh, you and folks like you are why I could never delete this app
comments like this is why you install reddit 😭.
Technically it rose but it didnt last long enough.
In 2011, Rose won MVP in his age 22 season, Blake Griffin won Rookie of the Year, and LeBron, in his 8th season, lost in the Finals for the second time and was pretty much universally considered a choker.
It makes no sense that both those guys retired years ago while LeBron’s this year was still actually important to potential championship contenders.
And even though that Philly deal is for 2 years, I can imagine buddy will still have another year or so left in the tank. Unreal
About ten percent of United States history is Bron playing in the NBA. And he’s hitting that milestone with the 76ers.
Then they put LeBron on him in the playoffs and he said “oh shit, this is impossible.”
Only the dumbest of people thought Rose was going to dethrone Lebron.
Lebron since day one has been seen as a generational talent that would basically be the best player in the NBA every season.
MVP votes are complicated. It’s not simply down to who’s the best player in the league.
Still going this asshole
DRose over here grilling burgers and she’s asking him about hoops
They should have asked him “How is Lebron like a father figure to you”?
Bro, this question made me cringe like hell the first time I’ve heard it, Jesus. The question was bad itself, but worse because Kyrie have a very tight bond with his father.
Haven’t been on r/nba for years and I’m glad that this quote still making the rounds 🤣🤣
That’s for flowers, not burgers
Why does anyone care about his burgers if not for his basketball career? It’s a one-off, fair question that you would ask even people completely unrelated to basketball.
As the new 2K cover art he is literally not “Out of the Game”, he is on the game
Not out of the game enough to pass on a check from Take Two interactive
Not sure he personally gets more money since everyone in the NBA shares the image rights revenue equally
Does this apply to retired players?
Retired players negotiate their own image rights. The reason for example that Chuck refuses to let 2K use his face is because 2K refuses to donate money to the NBPA’s pension fund
Yeah isn’t the amount they get paid for the games like $200 or some fugazi ass amount?
Yes but it’s separate from active players I think. Retired players have their own union that has a licensing contract with the league
What a bizarre choice of cover player
Eh, he was something special in his prime and a former MVP so deserves his flowers every now and then.
That kind of player, uber athletic PG that relies on driving usually seem to have really short shelf lives though. They are like NFL RBs, if they lose that oomph they sort of quickly become very one dimensional.
Respect
Wish more former athletes handled themselves this way. Just like it’s none of my business but hope he’s happy
He doesn’t care
LeBron James? The cheesesteak connoisseur?
This thread reminds me why I almost never engage in this joke of a subreddit lmao
Amen
D-Rose has such a healthy mindset in retirement. Lots of pro athletes can never get away from making what they did their whole identity, and struggle to move on as a result.
Unfortunately he had a lot of sabbaticals to help him prepare
I definitely wonder if all the injuries and time off provided him with that perspective.
But what does Ja rule think?
Somebody think of JA……!!!
Derrick Rose: “I don’t give a shit about LeBron James.”
It annoys me that they’d even ask him
Competitive bbqer?
What’s the context of this interview
Derrick Rose Celebrates NBA 2K27 Cover
Probably the most graceful response we’ll see from a player or former player. Everyone else just wants the spotlight too much or be that sound bite for them not to stay out of it. Admittedly I love drose lol
Insightful
Injuries robbed us of peak D-Rose. I’m still upset.
Damn they really ask anybody about Bron no matter how far he is from the situation lmao Drose just chilling enjoying retired life while a reporter tries to sneak in lebron
whats interesting about this is that its coming from a guy who is beloved and respected for leaving it all on the floor about a guy who cant seem to let the sport go
This man don’t give a fuck about Lebron.
Yall remember the 2012 all star game when Lebron was dancing like a cornball to meek mill and rose looked at him. Exactly. Rose didn’t care then and certainly doesn’t care now!
You’re thinking of the old Pooh, he’s a business man now.
Reading too much into this, but like 10 years ago a fan met drose and asked if it was him and rose replied “…I used to be”. So the separation from being a high level player was very hard on him, now that’s he’s “out of the game” he might be going through something similar. Again reading too much into it, but it could be something to take note of
Great for him, he wants to live his own life now and do things on his own. He’s not getting a paycheck from the NBA so unless he’s getting paid for his opinion or wants to give one and that’s up to him to do that.
The game not in him no mo’
You can tell the guy is done with the NBA and talking about it. Dude spent a good two decades answering the same questions over and over again. Living the same life. You can tell he’s just tired of the basketball questions
Can help but wonder what his career looked like without the injuries. He was dope to watch
DRose a legend. If the knee injury doesn’t happen he becomes one of the greatest PG to ever play.
This gives me Rogue One simple farmer vibes.