Derrick Martell Rose is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Detriot Pistons in the NBA. He played college ball for the University of Memphis and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 2008 draft where he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award and also became the youngest player to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2011 at the age of 22. He has also represented the New York Knicks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He signed with the Pistons in 2019. He has also won gold medals at the FIBA World Cup 2010 and 2014 along with the USA men’s National Basketball Team. Derrick has a fear of needles but loves getting tattoos that tell his story. Let us take a look at his tattoos and the meanings behind them.
1. ‘1988’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The right collar bone of the player contains the number, “19” tattooed on it and his left one contains the number “88” tattooed on it.
Meaning: The tattoo represents the year of birth of the player. Derrick was born on 4 October 1988.
2. ‘Godspeed’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The throat of the player contains a tattoo of a triangle on it with rays of shine emitting from it. The word, “GodSpeed” is also tattooed across his throat.
3. Emperor Tattoo
Tattoo: The right side of Derrick’s chest contains a large tattoo of an old emperor on it. The emperor is sitting with his legs crossed with a scepter in one hand and a ball in the other one.
Meaning: The tattoo of the emperor on his chest was done from the cover of a book. The emperor in the tattoo is Mansa Musa, the Mansa ie sultan of the Mali empire. He is regarded as one of the richest people to have ever lived on the earth.
4. Family Tattoo
Tattoo: The left side of Derrick’s chest contains a tattoo of a few rose flowers on it along with a banner below the design that reads, “Family First”
Meaning: The tattoo of the roses represents his family name, “Rose” and the words represent how much he is grateful for his family members and how he always puts his family before anything else in his life.
5. ‘Baby and Hands’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The middle of his stomach contains a tattoo of a pair of hands holding a little newborn baby. There is also a pair of wings joined with the hands that stretch towards the sides of his body. There is also a map outline of the African continent seen above the baby, emitting rays of shine.
Meaning: The tattoo of the baby being carried by angelic hands is a tattoo of his son, Derrick Rose Jr. whom he adores very much. There is another tattoo for his son on his body too as you’ll soon find out.
6. ‘God’s Child’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The backside of the player’s neck contains a tattoo of a little infant on it wearing a diaper. The baby also has wings on his back. There are clouds below the baby, starting on the player’s back and the words, “GOD’S CHILD” are tattooed across his upper back.
Meaning: The tattoo of the baby with wings as well as the words represent his own son, Derrick Rose Jr. The tattoo represents his love for his son and also shows how he regards him as God’s child and shows how god is the guardian of his son and will always be there to take care of him.
7. ‘Wizard’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The left shoulder of the player contains a tattoo of a wizard on it who is holding a cane in one hand and dribbling a basketball with the other one. The word, “Poohdini” is also tattooed above the wizard.
Meaning: Pooh is the name that Derrick’s grandmother used to call him. When he used to play basketball with his friends, he was magical like a wizard so they nicknamed him “Poohdini” like Houdini and the name stuck. The tattoo represents his nickname and a cartoon wizard as a reminder to his early days.
8. All-Star Tattoo
Tattoo: The side of his left forearm contains the words, “ALL STAR” tattooed on it in graffiti style. There are also two stars encasing the words.
Meaning: The tattoo represents 2010 when he was selected as a reserve for his first All-Star NBA game. He became the first player from the Bulls to be selected since Michael Jordan in 1998.
9. ‘Chicago’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of his left hand contains a scene of the buildings in Chicago with a basketball behind it. The words, “SWEET HOME CHICAGO” are also tattooed to go with the tattoo on the upper part of his wrist.
Meaning: The tattoo represents Englewood, Chicago which is the place he was born and brought up in. The tattoo is a tribute to his hometown.
10. ‘DZY’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The side of his left wrist contains the letters, “DZY” tattooed on it. The inner side of his wrist also contains the word, “HOPE” tattooed on it done inside a box.
Meaning: The hope tattoo is a motivational one that helps him get out of any problem in life. The “DZY” represents the name of his upcoming sneaker lineup with Adidas that he has teased in his stories on social media.
11. ‘Rose and Letters’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The right hand of the player contains a tattoo of a rose on it along with the name, “Brenda” written inside the rose. Each of his fingers also contains a letter tattooed on it.
Meaning: The rose on his right hand represents the name of one of his closest family members, his mother, Brenda Rose.
12. Design Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of Derrick’s right wrist contains a tattoo design on it that resembles a soft drink cap and has the letters, “EE” written inside it.
13. Forearm Tattoo
Tattoo: The side of his right forearm contains a design tattoo on it that contains the words, “Everybody Eats” inside it.
Meaning: The tattoo of the words on his forearm is a phrase that Derrick and his friends used to live by in Chicago. He grew up on the South Side which is a more dangerous part of Chicago.
14. ‘Cross and Characters’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of his right forearm contains a tattoo of a cross on it. There are also a few characters tattooed above the cross.
Meaning: The character on his arm is a Japanese inscription. The tattoo of the cross on his arm represents Derrick’s religious views and symbolizes the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to save humanity.
15. ‘Cross and Quote’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The area around his right elbow contains another cross tattooed on it. The cross also has two eyes on it. There is a quote tattooed on the cross that reads, “Only God Can Judge Me”.
Meaning: The tattoo of the cross along with the quote represents how Derrick is the master of his own actions and does not listen to anyone’s criticism or praise as he thinks that only the almighty can judge him as he knows who he truly is.
16. ‘Bird and Word’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The right side of his neck, behind his ear, contains a tattoo of a flying bird on it that has the head of a human being. There is also a word tattooed on his jawline that reads, “PAIDEIA”
Meaning: The bird on his arm with a human’s head is an ancient Egyptian symbol used to denote the soul of a human being. The word on his jaw is a Greek word meaning Education and was mostly used to denote education for society.
17. ‘Malcolm X’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The outer side of his left lower leg contains a portrait of Malcolm X on it.
Meaning: Derrick likes to get portraits of his idols on his legs and so far, he has three on his left leg. Malcolm X is one of them.
18. ‘Martin Luther King’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The front of his left lower leg contains a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. on it.
Meaning: Martin Luther King Jr. is also one of the figures that Derrick looks up to as one of his idols.
19. ‘Bruce Lee’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The latest addition to the portraits on his leg is one of Bruce Lee on his left thigh.
Meaning: The tattoo is also a tribute to one of his idols.
