Jalen Brunson's wife Ali Brunson shows love to Knicks HC's Derrick Rose tribute
Jalen Brunson's wife Ali celebrated the career of newly retired Derrick Rose by showing love and reposting on social media the message that current New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau had for his former player and one-time NBA MVP.
Thibodeau coached 'D-Rose' with the Chicago Bulls from 2010 to 2015, where the latter became the youngest league MVP in 2011, and later with the Knicks (2021-23). He released a statement, which the Knicks posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Part of the statement read
"Not only was he a great player, which I saw in the eyes of his opponents, he's an even better person, teammate, husband and father. The true measure of a man is how he handles adversity -- nobody did it better... I will cherish our many fond memories together and look forward to watching his next chapter..."
Check out the post below:
Ali Brunson shared Thibodeau's message to Derrick Rose on her Instagram story while also paying homage to the three-time All-Star by captioning her post with a rose emoji and heart.
Below is a screenshot of her IG story:
Derrick Rose played 16 seasons in the NBA after being selected first overall by the Bulls in the 2008 rookie draft from the University of Memphis. He had career averages of 17.4 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds. Apart from Chicago, he also had stops in New York, Cleveland, Minnesota, Detroit and Memphis.
In his MVP year in 2011, Rose averaged 25 points, 7.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds and a steal. He suffered an ACL injury in the 2012 playoffs that kept him out for the entire duration of the following season.
Rose struggled to regain his old form but had solid campaigns from 2018 to 2021 with the Timberwolves, Pistons and the Knicks.
Derrick Rose did not always like training under Tom Thibodeau
While Derrick Rose had a lot of respect for Tom Thibodeau, the just-retired NBA superstar shared that he did not always like training under his former coach, particularly during his last tour of duty with the New York Knicks.
Speaking to reporters after he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies last year following three seasons with the Knicks, he said he preferred the setup he had with his new team.
Derrick Rose said (via the New York Post):
"These last two years, I had Thibs. So this one compared to Thibs is, don't get me wrong we worked. But Thibs is more like, how can I say it? It's ran different. I'm just going to say that. It's ran different.
"Here, it's more smoother. It's more fluent. And guys are really getting their work in. And that's not saying the guys in New York didn't get their work in."
Rose played 24 games for the Grizzlies, started in seven, averaging 8 points, 3.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 17 minutes of play. He was recently waived by the team, ahead of his eventual retirement announcement on Wednesday.