A Bittersweet Homecoming... The Return of the Rose 1
Playing with your heart on your sleeve for the city you love.
This is dropping later than my usual Friday schedule, but Chicago's been waiting since 2012 for this moment. Hopefully, a few extra hours won't hurt.
Derrick Rose is getting his jersey retired by the Chicago Bulls on January 24th. And for the first time in years, his signature shoe is coming back.
The adidas Adizero Rose 1 is returning in the original black and red home colorway, exclusively for Chicago. It’s a retirement gift to the city that made him, from the brand that never quite figured out what to do with him after everything fell apart.
I know I don’t talk about releases much in this newsletter... that’s not really what we do here. But sneakers and local communities like Chicago, who really put on for sneakers, deserve to celebrate their local heroes in the form of exclusive sneakers.
One of my favorite things in the sneaker world is when a community gets the chance to celebrate themselves through a pair of shoes. This is one of those moments.
And honestly? The rest of the industry should be paying attention. This is how you honor a legacy.
I’ve been thinking about this all week. Not because I need another pair of sneakers. Not because the Rose 1 is some forgotten masterpiece. But because of what it represents... a career that should have gone so differently, a signature line that started strong and slowly disappeared, and a city that never stopped loving him even when the rest of basketball moved on.
What Made Those First Rose Shoes Special
I collected the Rose line aggressively those first few years. The Rose 1, the 1.5, the Rose 2. I bought at least one colorway of every model through the Rose 7. Not because I was covering them for work, though in some cases I was. But because they actually meant something.
The Rose 1 launched in 2010, right as Derrick was entering what would become his MVP season. Twenty-two years old, about to lead the Bulls to 62 wins, about to become the youngest MVP in NBA history.
The design wasn’t just another signature shoe... it was built specifically for how Derrick played. That padded ankle with a cutout balanced flexibility and support, working with the ankle brace he wore. The SprintSkin and SprintFrame tech. The PureMotion outsole inspired by adidas’ Feet You Wear from the ‘90s. The GeoFit system that actually acknowledged he needed extra support.
It wasn’t trying to be a Jordan. It wasn’t trying to be a Kobe. It was trying to be Derrick... explosive, kinetic, uniquely Chicago.
The Peak That Never Lasted
By the time the Rose 2 dropped in October 2011, Derrick had already won that MVP award. The youngest ever at twenty-two. Leading the Bulls, making Tom Thibodeau’s grinding defensive system watchable because of how electric he was on the other end.
The Rose 2 was even better than the first... cleaner lines, better tech, more wearable off-court. I remember thinking adidas finally had their guy, their answer to Nike’s stranglehold on basketball.
Then April 28, 2012 happened. Game 1 of the playoffs against Philadelphia. ACL tear. Everything changed.
The Slow Fade
Here’s the hard part to write... the Rose line never recovered.
Not commercially. Not culturally. Not in the way signature shoes are supposed to work.
Derrick came back for the Rose 3 launch in October 2012, but played just 10 games before a meniscus tear ended his season. I remember watching him cry at that Rose 3 launch. That moment stuck with me.
Allen Iverson has always been my favorite player for many reasons, but mostly because he played with so much passion and with his heart on his sleeve every moment. The same reason that D-Rose will forever be one of my favorites, too. That’s the type of person I want to support. That’s the type of passion, vulnerability, and honesty that I have come to admire more and more through the years.
And the man is literally giving flowers to his fans in Chicago. That’s special.
