Jalen Rose

Rose's biological father Jimmy Walker was a No. 1 overall draft pick in the NBA who started in the backcourt alongside Jerry West in the 1972 NBA All-Star Game. Although they eventually spoke several times over the phone, Rose never met his father in person. Walker died in July 2007 of lung cancer.[1]

Rose's mother, Jeanne, named him from a combination of his father's name, James, and his uncle's name, Leonard.[2] As a result of Rose's prominence in the NCAA and NBA, Jalen became one of the most popular names for African-American boys born in the 1990s and early 2000s. A number of notable American athletes who began play in the 2010s are named Jalen, after Rose.[3][4]

Michigan's Fab Five (left to right) Jimmy King, Rose, Chris Webber, Ray Jackson, and Juwan Howard

As a star at Southwestern High School in Detroit, where he was teammates with future NBA players Voshon Lenard and Howard Eisley, Rose obtained a high profile and can even be seen at a high school All-American camp in the documentary film Hoop Dreams. Rose attended the University of Michigan where the Wolverines reached two NCAA Finals games in 1992 and 1993, finishing as national runners up both times. Rose was a part of Wolverines coach Steve Fisher's legendary 1991 recruiting class, dubbed the "Fab Five" where he and his teammates revolutionized the sport of basketball on the court and off by wearing baggy uniform shorts, black socks, and black shoes. He led the Fab Five in scoring his freshman year, averaging 17.6 points per game, and set the school freshman scoring record with 597 total points. Aside from being the most outspoken of the Fab Five, Rose was also their small forward and leader. While he did not win an NCAA title, he racked up over 1700 points, 400 rebounds, 400 assists, and 100 steals. At 6-8 and playing as a versatile point guard, some reporters started comparing Rose to his schoolboy idol Magic Johnson.[5] Of the players called before the grand jury (Robert Traylor, Webber, Rose, Maurice Taylor, and Louis Bullock)[6] in the University of Michigan basketball scandal, Rose was the only one not listed as having received large amounts of money.[7]

Rose played for six different NBA teams, forging a solid pro career after skipping his senior season at Michigan. He was selected 13th overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1994 NBA draft. After two years with Denver, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers, along with Reggie Williams and a future first round draft pick, for Mark Jackson, Ricky Pierce, and a 1st round draft pick. Over the course of his 13-year NBA career, Rose earned more than $100,000,000 in salary compensation.[8]

Despite his successes in Indiana, he was not readily accepted early on. Rose frequently logged DNPCDs (Did Not Play – Coach's Decision) under Coach Larry Brown. Rose also often spoke out about the fact he was being used as a backup two-guard and small forward over his preference, which was point guard. It was not until Larry Bird took over coaching duties did Rose finally begin to blossom, eventually realizing he was most effective at small forward.

As a member of the Indiana Pacers, Rose helped the team get back on its feet after a disastrous 1996–97 season and make it to three consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances. Rose became the first player in eight years other than Reggie Miller to lead the Pacers in scoring in the 1999–2000 season when he averaged 18.2 points per game for the eventual Eastern Conference Champions, winning the NBA Most Improved Player Award in the process, the first time in Pacers history. After helping lead his team to the 2000 NBA Finals, Rose went on to average 25 points per game in the six game series, including a 32-point effort in a game five win. However, the Pacers lost the series to the Los Angeles Lakers.. This playoff series is also remembered for Rose intentionally placing his foot underneath Kobe Bryant in game 2, while Bryant was landing back to the ground after shooting a jump shot, in an effort to cause Bryant injury (which Rose later admitted to intentionally doing).[9] Bryant would miss Game 3 of the series due to an injury after landing on Rose's foot.[10]

During the 2001–02 season, Rose was traded to the Chicago Bulls along with Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a future second round draft pick in exchange for Brad Miller, Ron Mercer, Ron Artest and Kevin Ollie.

After 16 games in the 2003–04 season, Rose was traded to the Toronto Raptors, along with power forwards Donyell Marshall and Lonny Baxter. On January 22, 2006 Rose was among the Raptors who had 81 points scored on them, as Kobe Bryant had the best game of his career while Rose tried to guard him.

Rose in 2006 as a member of the New York Knicks.

On February 3, 2006, midway through the 2005–06 season, he was traded, along with a first-round draft pick, and an undisclosed sum of cash (believed to be around $3 million), to the New York Knicks for Antonio Davis, where he was reunited with Larry Brown, his coach for one year with the Indiana Pacers. The motivation behind this trade was apparently to free up cap space (Rose earned close to $16 million a year) and to allow the Raptors to acquire an experienced center who could relieve some of Chris Bosh's rebounding duties. Rose's final game and contribution for the Raptors was a home win against the Sacramento Kings, where he scored the winning basket in overtime.

Rose's tenure with the Knicks was uneventful and prior to the start of the 2006–07 NBA season on October 30, 2006, the Knicks parted ways with Rose by waiving him. He was courted by several teams including the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat.

On November 3, 2006, Rose announced he would sign with the Suns.[11] On November 7, it was officially announced that Rose had signed a $1.5 million one-year deal with Phoenix.[12]

As a member of the Phoenix Suns, Rose played minimum minutes. The fast-paced Suns offense was too fast for the aging swingman and his knees became a liability on defense. Upon the Suns' elimination from the 2007 NBA Playoffs, he retired his NBA player career on the Indiana Pacers and transitioned into a broadcasting career.

A left-handed player, Rose was known to have a smooth and versatile offensive game. Jalen was particularly gifted as a scorer from the perimeter or the post. Rose was used throughout his career at three different positions. He began his career as a point guard for the Denver Nuggets and became a shooting guard/small forward for the Indiana Pacers. He then returned to the point guard position briefly with the Toronto Raptors. However, during his career he was most effective as a small forward or swingman. Rose was also a good passer, especially for his height, and Indiana often employed him as a point forward. Not known for his defense, Rose's best moment defensively came during the 1997–1998 season, when Rose emerged as a defensive stopper on Michael Jordan in the Eastern Conference Finals, though the Bulls pulled out the series in seven games. Rose has sometimes been regarded as a team leader, particularly under head coach Larry Bird, though he reportedly was a disruptive force in the Pacers' locker room during his feud with the coach at that time Isiah Thomas, after Thomas cut former Fab Five teammate Jimmy King on the final day to do so before the 2000–2001 season.

While in Toronto, Rose also frequently clashed with Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, who benched a struggling Jalen early in the 2005–06 season in favor of rookie Joey Graham.

In the following months, Rose increased his Player Efficiency Rating more than three points (to 13.7) while averaging 12.1 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game. However, he only shot 40.4% from the field and 27% from three-point range (including a 51.4 true shooting percentage) through 46 games.

In 2003, Rose was honored with the Professional Basketball Writers Association Magic Johnson Award. Jalen was inducted into the Detroit High School Hall of Fame in 2013 and Michigan Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jalen Rose.

• Official website
• Career statistics and player information from Basketball-Reference.com