LeBron James is a living legend in the NBA, playing in Year 23 and still doing it a high level.<\/p>\n
While the end of James\u2019 career seems to be right around the corner, he\u2019s still considered a pivotal piece in the Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 plans to chase after another championship.<\/p>\n
As the elder statesman of the league, James has taken it upon himself to shower his former rivals and fellow stars with love and admiration. <\/p>\n
On a recent episode of his \u201cMind the Game\u201d podcast with Steve Nash<\/a>, James took some time to give Chicago Bulls legend Derrick Rose his flowers:<\/p>\n \u201cI hope and I hope dearly people have not forgotten about Derrick Rose. One of the most explosive players that I\u2019ve ever played. One of the most competitive players I ever played. Injuries suck, they really do. But the battles that I had against D. Rose when I was in Miami, when I went back to Cleveland\u2026if people don\u2019t know he\u2019s the youngest MVP in our league\u2019s history. And what he meant for the Chicago Bulls, he meant even more for the city of Chicago in whole. He\u2019s a legend, he\u2019s a great, and we all love Derrick Rose. If you have ever played basketball, have ever been a part of our league, there\u2019s not one bad thing people can say about Derrick Rose. He was an unbelievable competitor, so we love Derrick Rose, man.\u201d<\/p>\n Rose\u2019s career is one that is often looked back on as a giant what-if because he had accomplished so much in his young career before injuries derailed it. Rose was the frontman for the early 2010s Bulls as he led them to several playoff appearances and matchups against James.<\/p>\n While James always get the best of Rose, it wasn\u2019t for the latter\u2019s lack of effort as he always found ways to keep Chicago competitive. James and Rose would later team up briefly on the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the guard later ended his playing career with the Memphis Grizzlies.<\/p>\n Although Rose\u2019s career was never quite the same after suffering multiple devastating injuries, his impact on players can be seen through rookies like Adou Thiero. Thiero picked to wear No. 1 in honor of Rose<\/a>, a sign that James and some of the younger generation hasn\u2019t forgotten about the Bulls legend.<\/p>\n LeBron James downplays poster dunk over Luke Kornet <\/p>\n LeBron James may be the oldest player in the NBA, but he\u2019s still making highlight-reel plays. Against the San Antonio Spurs, James somehow threw down a poster dunk over Luke Kornet though he later downplayed it<\/a> since it came in a loss. <\/p>\n