In the summer of 2025, retired Chicago Bulls icon Derrick Rose sat down for an interview to reflect on his career. Rose, a lifelong Chicago native from the city’s South Side, revealed his picks for the franchise’s all-time starting lineup.

Rose showed plenty of appreciation for his hometown team, paying tribute to Bulls greats from different generations, including Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, and Artis Gilmore. In the end, though, he elected to back several players he shared the court with during his own Bulls tenure.

Most notably, that decision saw Rose leave Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen off the team, despite the seven-time All-Star playing a key role in six championships during the 1990s. Rose is certainly entitled to that opinion, and few people understand the quality of those 2010s Bulls better than he does. Even so, overlooking Pippen feels like a surprising call considering everything he accomplished in Chicago.

Derrick Rose

Point Guard

Rose unsurprisingly opened his starting five by selecting himself at point guard. His journey remains one of the most inspiring, yet heartbreaking, stories the NBA has witnessed in recent memory. Drafted first overall out of Memphis, Rose joined the franchise he had supported growing up while making his way through Chicago’s basketball scene.

Many viewed Rose as the player who would revive Chicago basketball after the post-Jordan years, a period that had been difficult for Bulls supporters. Not only did he live up to those expectations, but he exceeded them, quickly becoming a star and winning Rookie of the Year in 2008-09.

Rose dazzled during his first playoff series, averaging 19.7 points and 6.4 assists while helping push the Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett-led Celtics to seven games. He followed that up with three straight All-Star appearances between 2010 and 2012.

His peak arrived in 2010-11 when he captured the MVP award ahead of prime LeBron James, who had recently taken his talents to Miami. Some still view it as a historic MVP snub, but Rose’s season was extraordinary regardless.

Unfortunately, everything changed during Game 1 of Chicago’s first-round playoff matchup against Philadelphia. With the top-seeded Bulls comfortably ahead, Rose attacked the basket and landed awkwardly while making a pass, tearing his ACL and abruptly halting what looked like the beginning of a special era.

Rose would win only one more playoff series with the Bulls, doing so in 2015 before once again running into LeBron in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Even so, he guided Chicago to five playoff appearances and an Eastern Conference Finals berth, helping restore relevance to the franchise after Jordan’s retirement.

While the ending was unfortunate, Rose remains one of the greatest players in Bulls history. During his three-year peak, he averaged 22.7 points and 7.1 assists, spearheading a tough Chicago team that enjoyed two memorable seasons near the top of the NBA. His blend of explosive athleticism and creative finishing around the basket remains difficult to match.

As one of the best point guards of the 2010s, Rose fully deserved a place in this lineup.

Michael Jordan

Shooting Guard

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As expected, Rose selected Michael Jordan at shooting guard, creating a backcourt featuring two of the greatest athletes the league has ever seen. Jordan hardly needs an introduction, having won six championships, six Finals MVPs, ten scoring titles, and earned recognition as one of the greatest defenders in NBA history. Many fans still regard him as the greatest basketball player of all time.

Jordan’s relentless competitiveness and refusal to accept defeat would have been a natural fit on Tom Thibodeau’s Bulls teams of the early 2010s, several members of which appear in this lineup. Few players have ever combined elite scoring and elite defense the way MJ did.

The North Carolina legend remains the defining figure in Bulls history, and nearly three decades after his final game for the franchise, Chicago is still searching for someone capable of recreating his impact.

Luol Deng

Small Forward

This is where Rose’s choices become controversial. He opted for longtime teammate Luol Deng over Scottie Pippen at small forward. Selected in the 2004 NBA Draft, Deng spent the first decade of his career with Chicago and shared six seasons alongside Rose.

Deng was a key figure throughout several playoff runs and played an important role in the rugged, defense-first culture Thibodeau established. Few players embodied the mentality of those Bulls teams more than Deng, and Rose clearly wanted to recognize his contribution by placing him in the starting five.

Deng was far from an ordinary player, averaging 16.1 points and 6.4 rebounds on efficient shooting during his time with the franchise. He frequently served as either the second or third scoring option and was one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders at his peak. He also earned two All-Star selections in Chicago.

That said, picking Deng ahead of Scottie Pippen is difficult to justify. Pippen was unquestionably the second-most important player on six championship teams and was widely considered a top-10 player throughout the 1990s. Deng enjoyed an excellent career but never reached that level individually or in the postseason. Still, it’s nice to see Rose showing appreciation for one of his closest teammates.

Carlos Boozer

Power Forward

At power forward, Rose chose Carlos Boozer, another player he spent four seasons alongside between 2010 and 2014. By that point, Boozer was no longer quite at the level he had reached in Utah, where he earned his All-Star selections. He arrived in Chicago via a sign-and-trade deal with the Jazz during the 2010 offseason, a move that proved to be one of the franchise’s more successful acquisitions.

Even so, Boozer remained highly productive, averaging 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds across 280 appearances for the Bulls. He also brought physicality and toughness to the floor, making him an ideal fit for the team’s identity.

Joakim Noah

Center

Continuing his trend of selecting former teammates, Rose picked Joakim Noah at center. Noah spent nine years with the Bulls and overlapped with Rose for seven seasons. Once again, he perfectly represented what those Chicago teams were all about, bringing endless energy and effort every night.

Noah was an outstanding rebounder and defender, but his impact went beyond the stat sheet. He chased every loose ball and played with a passion that echoed Dennis Rodman‘s time in Chicago, another player who arguably deserved consideration for this team.

Still, Noah’s individual accomplishments should not be overlooked. He won Defensive Player of the Year and remarkably finished fourth in MVP voting in 2013

Yes, fourth. While averages of 12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists may not stand out today, they were hugely valuable in an era where defense was paramount and Chicago regularly won games through toughness and discipline.

There is an argument that Noah reached offensive and playmaking heights Rodman never achieved while still providing elite defense. Many wouldn’t put him ahead of Rodman given the latter’s role in three championships, but Noah’s case is certainly worth discussing.

Cristiano Ronaldo has made his feelings very clear with his viral response to a footballer claiming he was told to ‘lie’ about the best player in the world.

Lionel Messi and Ronaldo have constantly been in a battle to be acknowledged as the best current player and greatest footballer of all time. While the former is often given that crown, especially after lifting the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo certainly has his avid supporters.

The pair have 13 Ballon d’Or awards between them, as they dominated world football for two decades. Ronaldo has been open about the fact he puts himself ahead of any other footballer to grace the hallowed turf.

‘I Openly Lied’ – Barcelona Forced Messi Agenda

In a 2025 episode of the UNSCRIPTED podcast, former Barcelona midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng revealed he was told he had to back Messi in the debate, despite being a Real Madrid and Ronaldo fan.

“I always said I wanted to play for Real Madrid,” the Ghanaian said in a clip that resurfaced on Instagram. He went on to label Ronaldo his favourite player, saying:

As soon as he joined Barca on loan in 2019, the ex-Tottenham man was told that would have to change: “Signing for Barcelona, they said to me, ‘Your favourite team is Barcelona and your favourite player, the best player in the world is Lionel Messi’. They said, ‘You have to otherwise you can’t play here, it is impossible.’

“And I know it happened to other players as well. And I sat there at the press conference, the first question was ‘Who’s the best player in the world?’ and I said ‘Lionel Messi.’ I openly lied.”

Ronaldo Makes Feelings Clear on Messi ‘Lie’

Ronaldo, who is preparing for his sixth World Cup with Portugal, spotted the clip online and could not resist commenting. He may have just left a comment of four laughing emojis, but that in itself speaks volumes.

His reply gathered almost 600 million likes. Boateng is clearly on the Portuguese icon’s side in the never-ending debate, and that’s obviously true when it comes to millions of fans around the globe.

If he can get his hands on the World Cup trophy, you bet the 41-year-old will be screaming from the rooftops that there’s has never been a greater player in the history of the sport. And Portugal happen to be among the favourites.

At the 1994 World Cup, there was no better player than Romario. The iconic striker was awarded the Golden Ball as the most valuable player of the tournament, having fired Brazil to glory.

That was the crowning moment in an astonishingly good career, which saw him also win Copa America twice with the Selecao, as well as major honours at club level with Vasco da Gama, PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, and Flamengo. All that is more than enough to make him one of the greatest strikers of all time.

Romario certainly believes that he deserves to be regarded among the very best. In fact, the striker ranked his six best footballers in history, and placed himself in the group.

Speaking to The Guardian in the build-up to the 2026 World Cup, Romario revealed his greatest footballers of all time. He said:

Most people would likely agree that the likes of Argentine duo Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi deserve to be in the conversation; the same goes for Cristiano Ronaldo. Of course, Brazilian hero Pele is also always in that group of all-time greats.

That just leaves Ronaldo and Romario to make up the six. The legendary duo formed a feared partnership, referred to as the Ro-Ro duo, and fired Brazil to silverware at the 1997 Copa América in Bolivia, where they scored a combined eight goals. Sadly, fitness issues meant the older player didn’t feature at the 1998 World Cup, and he was also left at home in 2002 (although by then he was 35 years of age).

Most fans would rank Ronaldo as the better player, although those who watched Romario in his prime would likely consider him to be at the same elite level as a goalscorer.

Romario Unbothered by ‘Lazy’ Criticism Across His Career

Despite being a true great, Romario did not pass through his career without his fair share of criticism. He was notably not the biggest fan of training and didn’t always appear to put in a lot of effort.

On this topic, he remained as staunch as ever in his own defence. “Romario was lazy,” he said, repeating a regular accusation. “Romario didn’t practise the way many people thought I should train. But I scored goals.

“I was a force to be reckoned with on the pitch and screw the rest. They had to put up with me. Anyone who didn’t like it had to put up with it.”

Self-belief is certainly a huge tool when used correctly in football, and it’s that sort of attitude that perhaps explains why Romario was able to make it right to the top of the sport. With 55 goals in 70 international appearances, Brazil could certainly use a striker of his quality at the 2026 World Cup.