“Thank you, my first love.” Just like that, with these five words, Derrick Rose bid goodbye to his hooping career. Many former teammates and rivals have shared their respect for the Chicago native and Taj Gibson recently even called the past few days a “blur.”He was the one who shared the most games with Pooh. And another player who is second on the list, who also happened to officiate Rose’s wedding, described the introverted quality of the former Bulls star.

“It’s as special as they come in terms of a real introvert at heart, somebody who could score 30 on you, but just was scared of the post-game interview.” Joakim Noah said to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson via All the Smoke podcast. “He just didn’t want no part of the media. He just was always true to himself. Somebody who had an unbelievable talent, but just stayed real throughout.”

Noah arrived in the Windy City just a year before Derrick Rose. In their 7 seasons playing together, both ticked off a lot of personal achievements. D-Rose won the ROTY in ’09 and not to forget the ever-impressive youngest player to win the MVP in 2011. The Center, on the other hand, earned his DPOY trophy in 2014.

Both started their career with the Bulls and later even played for a short time with the Knicks. In total, they shared the court for 381 games, and that’s why they shared such a bond even outside the court. “Hope is a powerful emotion. You always represented hope- in human form.” That’s how Noah started his long and emotional message after Derrick Rose announced his retirement.

Even in the IG post, the 39-year-old mentioned, “You always kept a close circle. You were the youngest MVP with the city on your back, but you were an introvert at heart.” The long note has over 129k likes, and many fans too cherished reading about the D-Rose and his contribution from Noah’s point of view. So let’s do just that!

How Noah and Derrick Rose forged their friendship

With just a 1.8 percent chance to win the lottery pick, the odds eventually fell in favor of the Chicago Bulls. Once they signed Derrick Rose, the franchise could feel the change. With Noah being the defensive anchor for the team and Luol Deng playing as one of the best two-way players in the league on the wing. Even Michael Jordan couldn’t stop raving about the team and the future under Rose and company.

During the 2010-11 season, the Bulls finished with the best record in the NBA and were showing promise of being the title contenders. That season, the Big 3 of the Miami Heat stopped them, but the team rose back again, logging the best record in the NBA again in the following season. Yet, the season-ending injury of Derrick Rose dropped any such hopes for the fans. Even the guard was taken aback by the injury.

“Our relationship grew after he got hurt. You know, he got hurt, and I think that was at the height of his career—he had just signed a huge deal with the Bulls, a huge deal with Adidas, but had to sit out that year. I think it was a really lonely time for him.” Even though the duo couldn’t win any championship, the bond they shared clearly needed no trophy.

“Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.”