Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose said he rarely watched Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls during their championship runs because he preferred playing basketball outside with other children.
Growing up in Chicago during the Bulls’ dominant years, Rose explained that he was more interested in playing the game himself than watching Jordan compete on television.
D-Rose: “I ain’t watched none of Mike’s games when they was winning championships. I’m outside. My brothers tell me to come back in when they about to celebrate. ‘Hey, the game gonna end. Come back in.’”
His comments surprised former NBA guard Tony Allen, who questioned how Rose could have grown up in Chicago without regularly watching the Bulls.
Tony Allen: “Time out, time out, wait, rewind. You ain’t watched no Bulls game?”
Rose clarified that his family would call him inside when the Bulls were about to win a championship, but even then, his attention remained on the children playing outside.
D-Rose: “The game is they about to win the champ. ‘Hey, go get Pooh. The game about to end. He can’t be out.’ All right, they in. I’m looking through the window. I’m watching my brothers outside running around in the street…”
Rose also recalled receiving Bulls championship merchandise from his mother but said he was not particularly interested in the celebrations surrounding Jordan’s success.
“Man, they watch Jordan. Damn, my mama give me a shirt with the newspaper thing on it. I’m like, ‘All right.’ I don’t want none of that.”
