Jalen Rose

Lore & Background

Rose was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Jeanne Rose and Jimmy Walker, a No. 1 overall NBA draft pick and two-time All-Star. He never met his father in person but spoke with him several times by phone. Rose attended Southwestern High School in Detroit, where his teammates included future NBA players Voshon Lenard and Howard Eisley. He appeared in the documentary film Hoop Dreams at a high school All-Americans camp. At Michigan, Rose led the Fab Five in scoring as a freshman, averaging 17.6 points per game, and set the school freshman scoring record with 597 total points. He accumulated over 1700 points, 400 rebounds, 400 assists, and 100 steals in college. In the University of Michigan basketball scandal, Rose was the only player among those called before the grand jury not listed as having received large amounts of money, though he confessed to receiving occasional gifts of a couple hundred dollars in spending money from Martin.

Reader's Guide

Rose was selected 13th overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1994 NBA draft. After two years, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers along with Reggie Williams and a future first-round pick for Mark Jackson, Ricky Pierce, and a first-round pick. Under coach Larry Bird, Rose blossomed at small forward. He helped the Pacers reach three consecutive Eastern Conference Finals and the 2000 NBA Finals. During the 2000 playoffs, Rose scored 40 points in a Game 1 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, and averaged 25 points per game in the NBA Finals, including a 32-point effort in a game five win. The Pacers lost the series to the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 2001–02 season, Rose was traded to the Chicago Bulls. On March 16, 2002, he scored a career-high 44 points and hit a game-winning shot in an overtime win against the Houston Rockets. After 16 games in 2003–04, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors. On February 3, 2006, he was traded to the New York Knicks for Antonio Davis. On November 7, 2006, he signed a one-year deal with the Phoenix Suns. He retired in 2007.

Did You Know?

• Rose's name was created by his mother by combining his father's name, James, and his uncle's name, Leonard.
• Rose became one of the most popular names for African-American boys born in the 1990s and early 2000s due to Jalen Rose's prominence.
• Rose is the founder of the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy and author of the New York Times best-seller 'Got to Give the People What They Want'.
• Rose produced the ESPN documentary 'The Fab Five', which became ESPN's highest-rated documentary at the time.