As a kid, Derrick Rose didn’t have bedtime stories from his dad. He didn’t have pickup games with him at the park. All he had were whispers – stories of a father he never met, a man who once shined under the same NBA lights he would one day own.

Jimmy Walker, a No. 1 overall draft pick and a backcourt partner of Jerry West during the 1972 All-Star game, never stepped into Rose’s life. They never met in person, communicating only through a few phone calls before Walker succumbed to lung cancer in 2007. Rose turned that absence into fuel. “My dad wasn’t around at all,” he once said. “I took it as motivation where it’s like I’mma smash everything that he even wanted to dream about.”

At the time, he didn’t fully comprehend the impact of his father’s absence. Rose admitted that for years, he had operated under the assumption that his father was still out there, watching. “This is when I thought that he was living because the older I got, I realized he passed,” he revealed.

So, when his career started winding down, Rose finally confronted the void it left behind. Basketball had consumed him, but now, something else demanded his attention—his children. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I feel like I need to fully dedicate myself to my son now,” he admitted. At first, his son struggled to process the news. “He was very sad,” Rose said, but as the conversation continued, he saw the upside. “From that moment on, it has been all love.”

Recently, Rose made a public appearance that reflected his new priorities. He took the mound for the ceremonial first pitch at the Chicago White Sox’s opening game, with his five-year-old son, London, by his side. His wife, Alaina Anderson, and seven-year-old daughter, Layla, also attended the game.

London even joined his father at the press conference, where Rose held him up while answering questions. A beaming Rose later shared a moment from the day on Instagram, showing off his son’s bright smile.

“That smile means the WORLD to me,” Rose wrote. “Me not having my dad around makes me go ALL in with my kids. I wish I would’ve met my dad. We would’ve laughed about how I crush everything he did as a MAN lol.”

In a life defined by comebacks, Derrick Rose now faces the most meaningful one yet. That is, rewriting the father-son story he never got to live.

Derrick Rose breaks down what it really means to be a ‘dad.’

A few months ago, Derrick Rose sat down with the Club 520 Podcast to open up about the role family plays in his life. The retired NBA star didn’t just talk about being a father—he made it clear that being a “dad” carries a deeper meaning. For him, the title represents more than just biology; it’s about the time, effort, and love he puts into his children’s lives every day.

“My kids call me dad; I love when they call me dad. Not ‘father’—that doesn’t sound right to me,” Rose explained. “So, like, the time that I’m putting in, giving every one of my kids that equal time, you know what I’m saying?”

As a father of three, he’s hands-on, especially with his eldest son, PJ Rose, who’s starting to develop his own love for basketball. D-Rose is also making sure PJ learns life lessons along the way.

Since PJ is the oldest, Rose is a bit tougher on him, making sure he stays disciplined. “I have to be a little bit more strict on him as far as making sure he gets up on time for school, taking out the garbage—all little chore [stuff]. But it creates your character, you know what I’m saying?” He doesn’t want to push too hard or force his son to follow in his footsteps. “You’re your own person; you are PJ Rose; you are your own entity.” 

Regret has a cruel way of making its presence felt long after the moment to change things has passed. Derrick Rose spent years chasing greatness, unaware that his father – his first ghost – was already gone. But regret doesn’t have to be a curse; sometimes, it’s a lesson. Rose may never get to meet Jimmy Walker, but he gets to do something even more powerful: break the cycle. And that? That’s a legacy greater than basketball ever could be