Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James Had No Words for Major Derrick Rose News

Derrick Rose and LeBron James were briefly teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017-18 before Cleveland traded Rose to the Utah Jazz. The Jazz waived Rose, who signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Rose retired from the NBA before the start of the 2024-25 season. He played for the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks (twice), Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies. 

The 2011 MVP, Rose appeared in 723 NBA games. He averaged 17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks and made three All-Star teams and one All-NBA team. The Chicago native also won the 2009 Rookie of the Year Award.

When Rose was with the Bulls, he went 0-3 against James in the postseason. Rose and the Bulls lost to James and the Cavaliers in the first round of t he 2010 playoffs and the second round of the 2015 playoffs. 

Rose and Chicago also lost to James and the Miami Heat in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals.

“Bron was the only one that thought like a point guard that wasn’t a point guard,” Rose said in June. “Where he wouldn’t score early or sometimes he would start scoring early. And he was smart enough to make the adjustment. I hated that.” 

James will become the NBA’s all-time leader in made field goals next season. He is 350 field goals away from passing NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who made 15,837 shots during his Hall of Fame career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers.

James, of course, passed Abdul-Jabbar as t he leading scorer in NBA history during the 2022-23 season.

A four-time champion, James has played for the Cavaliers (twice), Heat and Lakers. He enters next season with career averages of 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks. The four-time Finals MVP is the only player in NBA history to rank top five all-time in points and assists.