Detroit Pistons point guard Derrick Rose will head home to Chicago to participate in the 2020 All-Star Weekend festivities.
Derrick Rose has a special bond with his hometown of Chicago and his legacy will grow as a part of All-Star weekend.
Rose, who hasn’t been an All-Star since the 2011-12 season, will participate in the NBA Skills Challenge, reports The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The Skills Challenge will take place on Saturday, Feb. 15.
The competition tests a player’s ball-handling, passing and shooting ability through a series of timed drills.
It’s an eight-player competition featuring a bracketed format where player’s race through a course weaving through five obstacles and throw a pass into a hoop, dribble back to the end of the court where they started for a layup. The race ends when the first player races down the court again and hits a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
The bracket is formatted so a guard will face off against a forward in the championship round. Last year Jayson Tatum beat Trae Young. Previously Spencer Dinwiddie beat Lauri Markkanen. But in 2017, Kristaps Porzingis beat Gordon Hayward and in 2016 Karl-Anthony Towns beat Isaiah Thomas.
Participants for the 2020 event have not been announced yet. Rose is also under consideration to participate in the NBa All-Star Game. Rose was fourth among Eastern Conference backcourt votes with 233,669 votes. Young (443,412), Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker are the three directly ahead of him.
Fan voting makes up 50% of selecting starters. Media votes get a 25% stake and NBA head coaches get the other 25% of the vote.
Rose has resurrected his career with the Detroit Pistons, looking as close to his pre-injury self as possible. He’s averaging 17.3 points and 5.7 assists per game in 24.8 minutes per game. His per-36 minutes and per-100 possessions numbers are comparable to that season with the Bulls.
Rose played high school basketball at Chicago Simeon, a powerhouse in the city. He hit a game-winner in the 2006 Class AA state championship game. Two years later he was suiting up for the Bulls in their best run since Michael Jordan suited up.
Chicago fans will again get to hear, “Frommm Chicago,” with Rose’s name again.
Perhaps in a few weeks, Rose will get the call to be an All-Star, too.