Lakers News: LeBron James Reacts to MVP Former Teammate’s Retirement Decision

Another career ends, as the league's oldest player prepares for his record-tying 22nd season.

Apr 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves to the basket against Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (50) during the second half in game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

As another MVP player's career ends, the league's oldest active player continues to prepare for his record-tying 22nd season.

20-time Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA combo forward LeBron James bid a fond farewell to long-time on-court enemy and one-time teammate Derrick Rose, who announced his retirement from pro basketball on Thursday.

"Much love and respect Pooh!!! Salute 🫡 Forever Immortalized 🐐"

LeBron James showing love to the now retired Derrick Rose on his IG story 🌹 pic.twitter.com/bHKrGl4CLS

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 26, 2024

Rose, who'll turn 36 in October, negotiated a buyout on the second year of his minimum-salaried contract with the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this month.

The 6-foot-3 point guard is calling it a career after 16 seasons, and will end his NBA tenure as the subject of several painful "what-ifs."

Selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft out of the University of Memphis by his hometown Chicago Bulls, the lightning-quick point guard electrified the league with his explosiveness and hops, instantly making an up-and-coming Chicago team appointment television.

James' Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat squads remained a perennial barricade to Rose's Bulls teams during the latter's Chicago prime. In the postseason, Rose's Bulls faced off against James' Heat or Cavaliers teams three times (though Rose himself was only healthy in two of those playoff meetings), posting a combined 12-4 record.

Despite being a playoff also-ran, Rose accomplished a lot during his all-too-brief time in the sun. He was a three-time All-Star and a one-time All-NBA First Teamer, and became the youngest MVP in league history circa 2011. James claimed the next two MVP awards, in 2012 and 2013.

A series of leg injuries, highlighted by an ACL tear during the first game of the top-seeded Bulls' 2011-12 playoffs and an MCL tear 10 games into the 2013-14 season, ended what had seemed likely to be a Hall of Fame trajectory.

Rose remained a close facsimile of his MVP self well into his Bulls run. Health and ego issues clouded what was an otherwise appetizing 2014-15 season for Chicago. The team had brought in All-Star big man Pau Gasol and watched as former No. 30 overall draft pick Jimmy Butler graduated to All-Star status himself. Rose played in just 51 games that season, but looked pretty good when he did. The Bulls went 50-32 and got off to a 2-1 start in their 2015 second round series against James' Cavaliers, before Cleveland ran off three consecutive victories and eventually advanced to an NBA Finals meeting with the Golden State Warriors.

After an underwhelming post-Tom Thibodeau stint in 2015-16, Rose was traded to the New York Knicks. He proceeded to bounce around the league. Rose signed a veteran's minimum deal with James' Cavaliers for the 2017-18 season — a union that would have blown minds when Rose was still an All-Star, but was quite understandable with Rose in his role player era.

The pairing didn't last long. Rose played just 16 games (seven starts) as James' teammate before ultimately being traded to the Utah Jazz. He negotiated a buyout and subsequently latched on with Tom Thibodeau's Minnesota Timberwolves. Rose, sapped of his athleticism, developed a 3-point shot and started finishing with up-and-unders rather than dunks. He fully embraced his sixth man role in subsequent seasons with Minnesota, the Detroit Pistons, and finally Thibodeau's New York Knicks.

But Rose's renewed usefulness on the hardwood was short-lived. By the halfway point of the 2022-23 season, he saw himself pushed out of even Thibodeau's rotations as his defensive limitations, ball dominance, and random health issues made him a liability. He signed on with the Grizzlies in 2023-24, but was healthy for just 24 games.

Across 723 regular season games, Rose averaged 17.4 points on .456/.316/.831 shooting splits, 5.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 0.7 steals. The fact that he managed to get paid for 16 seasons (although he missed major parts of many), given his longtime injury woes, is a testament to his willingness to push his body to its limits.

So another longtime James nemesis is now officially down for the count. And yet the four-time league MVP, 39, endures. He suited up for 71 games and was an All-Star and All-NBA honoree for the record-shattering 20th time last year, while guiding the Lakers to a solid 47-35 record and a playoff seed. Derrick Rose appeared in just 24 games for the bottom-feeding Memphis Grizzlies, mostly as a bench player. Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony have been retired for years.

LeBron James endures.

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