Chicago native and former Chicago Bulls great Derrick Rose officially married his longtime partner on Thursday in a small ceremony in California, sources confirmed to NBC Sports Chicago.
Rose, who became the youngest most valuable player in NBA history following the 2010-11 season with the Bulls, married Alaina Anderson, whom he proposed to in October 2021 on the floor of Madison Square Garden. The couple is notoriously private but has been publicly linked since 2016 and have had two children together.
Some reports have suggested the couple previously married in a private ceremony in February 2018, so it's unclear if this was merely a formal recognition of that day or a newly legal binding ceremony.
Rose created headlines in July 2022 when his former Bulls teammate and close friend Joakim Noah got married in Brazil, playing unofficial wedding photographer. Noah attended Thursday's small ceremony and had a role in the wedding.
Rose, 34, signed with the Memphis Grizzlies during the offseason. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft is entering his 16th NBA season and has earned leaguewide respect for overcoming myriad knee injuries to endure.
When he visited the United Center last season, where he routinely draws standing ovations as a visiting player, he grew eloquent when talking about his basketball mortality.
"Who knows how many years I’m going to continue to play?” he said in December 2022. “It’s a lot of things I’m looking forward to doing. But right now, I’m still invested in basketball. So that’s where I’m giving my everything.
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“I got pictures from (my son, P.J.) and Kobe (Bryant) here, everything. The book that we’re going to look back at and all the pictures, it’s going to be something to really cry about. We maxed out in every area while we were here. Basketball, talking to the fans. We were showing professionalism when we were here with that group.”
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