Chicago Bulls retire Derrick Rose's No. 1 jersey after win - ESPN

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls retired Derrick Rose's No. 1 jersey on Saturday night following their 106-103 victory against the Boston Celtics.

Rose grew emotional throughout the ceremony, wiping tears from his eyes as his teammates, Taj Gibson and Luol Deng, began with the opening remarks. Rose then delivered a tearful speech of his own, honoring his mother, Brenda, his brothers, a collection of ex-teammates in attendance and a sold-out crowd in Chicago, his hometown, as nearly the entire arena remained in their seats for more than an hour after the game.

Rose became the fifth Bulls player in history to have his number retired. He joins Jerry Sloan (No. 4), Bob Love (No. 10), Michael Jordan (No. 23) and Scottie Pippen (No. 33). The Bulls also have banners that honor former coach Phil Jackson and former general manager Jerry Krause.

«This journey was never about me,» Rose said prior to the win. «It was about creating the synergy that somehow people from the city can pull from. And somehow I was that beacon or that vessel for that — from hooping.»

Temperatures outside dropped into the single digits in Chicago on Saturday, but fans still lined up outside the United Center hours before tip off, waiting for an early glimpse of the star of the night. A black T-shirt with Rose's name and number on the back sat on top of every seat in the arena, and Bulls players wore the same shirt for their pregame warmups.

Rose finally took the court about an hour before the game as fans frantically lined up to snap pictures and video as Rose shot around with his son as family members and ex-teammates gathered along the baseline and at center court.

«All this, the moment, I'm still trying to take it in,» Rose said. «Just feeling grateful.