Rose says he's had a lot of support along the way. He's only four years removed from Simeon High School.
Derrick Rose was the overwhelming choice for the league MVP, and it's all the more special because he won it in his hometown. He is sharing the award with the people he grew up with and who raised him to become a superstar. Growing up in the rough Englewood neighborhood, Rose has defied the odds to go on to college and the NBA and he's never forgotten who helped him get here.
"I want to thank my mom. When I'm having a hard time, I think about her having to wake me up and go to work and just making sure I'm all right," Rose said.
In the front row, his family fought back tears as they listened. He may now be a multimillion dollar NBA star but he's also still a 22-year-old kid. At home, his mother still calls him by the nickname she gave him as a baby, "Pooh."
"He's still a kid at heart. He still runs through the house all silly and I don't want him to lose that," said the MVP's mother Brenda Rose.
His jersey hangs on the wall outside the gym at Simeon High School, and in the case by the front entrance are two state championship trophies he helped win.
"He still has the same friends from high school. He's still humble with those guys. He just didn't want to get distant. He knows where he came from," said Simeon coach Robert Smith.
Those friends and family, according to Rose, keep him humble and grounded.
"We're very proud. Even if Derrick didn't win this award, we'd still be proud of Derrick," said the MVP's brother Reggie Rose.
In an era when many big-time athletes trash talk and try to draw attention to themselves after a big play, Rose says little on the court and just goes about his job.
"My mom, she always told me just because you can shoot a basketball better than someone else, I shouldn't think I'm better than them," Rose said.
Rose says he's looking forward to being introduced with the trophy before Wednesday night's game because he says the award is really for the fans. As for the trophy, he says he hopes to keep it for a few days before his mother claims it.
