Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose has announced he will be retiring from the NBA, as reported first by The Athletic’s Shams Charania. 

Rose made the announcement official on his social media pages and also by placing ads in newspapers for each of the cities he played for in his NBA career: Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minnesota, Detroit, and Memphis.

The youngest MVP in the history of the league at just 22 years old finishes a career full of ups and downs, experiencing the highest of highs and lowest of lows.

Rose was selected by his hometown Chicago Bulls as the no.1 overall pick out of Memphis in the 2008 NBA Draft and then subsequently won Rookie of the Year honors.  In his early prime with the Bulls, Rose made three straight all-star teams, won MVP in 2011 in just his 4th season in the league, and then capped it off by making the Eastern Conference Finals that same season (yet the Bulls eventually lost to the Miami Heat).

However, a devastating injury in the 2012 Playoffs in Chicago’s first-round matchup vs the Philadelphia 76ers derailed Rose from fully achieving his potential, and he was unable to come back to that same level early in his career. Rose went on to play for the Bulls until the 2015-2016 season before Chicago ended up trading him to the New York Knicks. 

The 6-foot-3 point guard bounced around teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Detroit Pistons, often to try and find his groove and mojo back. He was a reliable piece off the bench as he scored on the opposing team’s benches, but then again Rose never found that MVP level again. Instead, Rose served as a leader and a veteran voice for these teams, beloved by the organization, players, and fans alike.

His last stop was with the Memphis Grizzlies after signing with the team last season before getting waived this year. Before his official announcement, Rose posted a cryptic video hinting at his retirement from the game, and he made it official the day afterward.

“The next chapter is about chasing my dreams and sharing my growth. I believe true success comes from becoming who you were created to be, and I want to show the world who I am beyond basketball,” Rose said. “Whether good or bad, everyone has a ‘What if’ story in their life. Even if I could, I wouldn’t change anything in mine, because it’s what helped me find real joy.”