Derrick Rose - Ill Show You

I want to thank whoever is looking over me and blessing me with my talent.

And I could never have gotten through what I did if it wasnt for my family. I want to say thank you for raising me with tough love and allowing me to be my quiet self. I will forever be thankful and mindful of everything you sacrificed to get me where I am in life. I love you all.

Contents

Ill Show You is the title I wanted for this book. Because it represents me, my story, who I am.

Lets see what you can do. Not what you tell me youre gonna dowhat you can do.

It shows both sides of my personality. Im an introvert. I didnt understand for a long time what that meant. Theres nothing bad or wrong with that. But it can make people think different about you. They think you think youre all that, or something.

Thats not me; never been me.

But its also having to do interviews when youre so young and no one tells you what to do or its not something youre good at. Then people think of you in different ways.

Did you ever think back to when you were 17 and 18? And then youre 19 and 20 and in the NBA with all these reporters asking you things all the time? Ever think about what youd say and how you would do that if you were a quiet person?

Ill Show You means I lead by example. And thats pretty much how I did everything in my life. Watch medont wait for me to tell you. Ive never been one to talk about it. Its also one of the reasons I never talk in basketballnone of that trash talking. It never bothered me. I kind of feed into it, anyway. Alright, thats where we are at now? Just watch this now. Im going to score this next bucket and well see if you look at me the same way. You gotta feel it. When Im on the floor Im totally different. What do they say in Chicago? They call it not going, where youre just not backing down. I dont have to talk crazy on the floor. I can show them.

From growing up, too. Its just how I carry myself. You never know for sure why you are the way you are. But growing up where I did and seeing what I saw, I think thats one reason I like to be quiet.

Drugs were a big thing where I grew up on Chicagos South Side, in Englewood. Im sure youve all heard about it. Its in the news all the time and this current president makes fun of it. It was home, a home to a lot of good people who care and are trying to make a better life, and stuff like thats unfair to the people there. Theyre trying to survive like people everywhere; they just dont get the same chance like people in other places. When you get out, you see the racism you didnt understand as a kid. People there are like people anywhere else. They want the same things.

But that cycle of violence, its a dangerous place to grow up. I had friends die, heard gunshots, was scared in my house seeing people drive up with bats and sticks and ready to fight. I ran upstairs in my house. One of the reasons why Im quiet, I think, is because looking at the drug trade, those loud guys were all the ones who went down. All the ones who were flashy and wanted to be seen, something seemed to happen to them. I never wanted to be that person. It was too many people in my neighborhood, they talked so much shit and I realized they always were the dumbest ones. Im dead serious.

Im seeing that as a kid. Im thinking to myself, If I ever get out of this situation, if I ever get a grip or something, Im never gonna walk around like that, because its too much attention. I could be quiet and seem dumb and nobody will know about me. Then I may hit you with a fun fact and that may blow your mind that day. You just dont know what I know. Thats the way I wanted to come across.

Thats what blows my mind. It would become, Why should I give you that other side of me when youre shitting on me? I show people that real side when Im feeling warm enough to show it to you. Its the respect and vice versa.

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I got a lot of attention from basketball, sure. But thats the part I cared about the leastthe accolades. I think I realized early on it takes you to the wrong places. Ill Show You is like a little bit of attitudeno matter what I am, Im determined to get where Im going.

I was always told about how gifted I was when it came to basketball. And its true. My speed, it was different. I could get places on the court, control the game without scoring. I never played a game against any of my brothers, because even when I was young they knew I was better than them even though they were so much older. I heard people compare me with Jason Kidd. But J. Kidd is not that athletic. Hes gonna master his craft and what he does because hes not that athletic. Hes bigger, learned how to shoot, great court vision. Hes gonna use what hes got. With me, I feel like I had another side. And not just raw talent.

The speed. It kills, right? You could throw out everything else, but I had the speed to split double-teams. Like, go at double-teams numerous times in a possession, on consecutive possessions where Im testing your endurance, your bigs. How many times are you gonna be able to cut me off in that corner?

Kevin Garnett was the best on defense. Really making me think the game. So Im happy I came into the league when I did because the league now is totally different. But I was able to experience kind of what the old league had; I feel blessed to have experienced that, the tough play.

I played different in AAU than I did in high school. Thats why my brother Reggie wanted me to have my own AAU team. It became sort of who I was on the court, the other Derrick. I played small forward in high school. I didnt have the ball in my hands. I wasnt the leading scorer on my teams. I didnt start scoring until I got to the league. When I played AAU, I wore No. 1 for the first time. That was like my alter ego, where I get to play the way I want to play and save my team.

It was at Peach Jam, the big Nike tournament. There were teams with Yao Ming, Tony Parker, everybody on the same team. I think that kind of helped me with the Bulls playing with mediocre playersmediocre scoring players. They were good players, but with the scoring I knew I couldnt let the game slip so far.

I know the game has changed even since I came into the league. Shooting is everything now. You gotta be able to shoot. But Ive always felt I could adapt, like playing the three in high school, point guard in AAU, scoring when I needed to in the league. And I think youve seen when I got with Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota, with the pressure on Jimmy Butler and then after Jimmy was traded to the 76ers, how my three-point shooting was getting better. People forget it was getting better before the ACL. Then I got caught up in doing so many things to get back.

But the summer after I got to Minnesota, Im shooting thousands of shots. So Im not thinking about it. Its like the speedyou dont think, you just show people. Im in the game. So shoot it. Theyd say my shot didnt have the right arc. But did Kobe Bryants? And all this when Im back playing the three even, playing shooting guard, playing point. But Im loving it. Remember, Im 30, 31 years old. Not that kid anymore.

Sure, Ive had doubts, but I feel Ive shown that Im mentally tough. I showed that even with what happened in New York and Cleveland, with leaving. Im paying for that, but it was me. But Ive been making history every time Im on the court, and people can relate because everyone has struggles.

My critics could say I quit, but I never gave up. Theres always been the love of the game, for my sons, my daughter. So me having my kids has played a huge role in pushing through these four, five surgeries, understanding my career and where I was, and where I am and where I will be.