Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had a heartfelt reaction to Derrick Rose’s jersey retirement announcement.

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 106-95.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be taking the floor to begin the 2025 season in exactly two months, with Luka Doncic and LeBron James leading the charge. James is one of the last players standing from the previous era of NBA stars that defined the late 2000’s and early 2010s, and will turn 41 years old just a couple of months into this upcoming Lakers season.

On Thursday, another player from that previous era, former All-Star point guard and league MVP Derrick Rose, learned that he will have his jersey retired by his former team, the Chicago Bulls, during a game this season.

One person who was thrilled for Rose was none other than LeBron James himself, who took to X, formerly Twitter, to quote tweet a post from ESPN revealing the news with a slew of rose and clapping emojis.

Rose and James had multiple playoff battles over the years, including during the 2015 playoffs when Rose knocked down a fadeaway three pointer to give the Bulls a 2-1 lead over James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers would go onto win that series in six games and represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

Three years later, Rose and James were briefly teammates with the Cavaliers for the opening portion of the 2017-18 campaign before James (or Kobe Altman) traded away almost half the roster in a wild deadline overhaul.

A big honor for Derrick Rose

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Derrick Rose last played in the NBA during the 2023-24 season as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. Rose was one of the most electrifying point guards in NBA history during his peak years, and became the league’s youngest MVP award winner for his efforts during the 2010-11 season.

Unfortunately, a torn ACL in the 2012 playoffs marked the beginning of a series of injury problems for Rose that would stop him from ever fully realizing his potential, but he’s still undoubtedly the best player to wear a Bulls uniform since Michael Jordan was suiting up for the franchise in the 1990s.

It’s nice to see James and so many other NBA figures congratulating Rose on the big honor of having his jersey lifted to the United Center rafters.