CHICAGO– Former MVP Derrick Rose is retiring from the NBA after a 16-year career.

“Knowing that I gave everything to the game, I feel confident in my decision,” Rose told ESPN. “Basketball was just the beginning for me. Now it’s important that I give everything for my family — they deserve it.”

Rose, 35, announced his decision on social media Thursday morning. He also took to the pages of local newspapers in the six NBA cities where he played — Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis — to thank each fan base.

The Memphis Grizzlies earlier in the week agreed to Rose’s request to opt out of the final year of his contract.

Rose arrived in the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft, joining his hometown Chicago Bulls. The 6-foot-3 point guard quickly emerged as one of the NBA’s most exciting young stars, dominating and dazzling with his combination of athleticism and fearlessness.

Rose won the Rookie of the Year award in 2008–09 and was an All-Star the next three seasons. He became the youngest MVP in NBA history, winning the honor as a 22-year-old in 2010–11, when he averaged 25.0 points and 7.7 assists per game to lead the Bulls to a league-best 62–20 record before a run to the Eastern Conference finals.

Rose’s career turned around when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the first round of the 2012 playoffs. He missed the entire following season and was limited to just 10 games in 2013-14.

His eight-year run with the Bulls ended when Chicago traded Rose to the New York Knicks during the 2016 offseason. He was a veteran player in the second half of his career, as Rose was often hampered by injuries.

Rose finished his career averaging 17.4 points and 5.2 assists in 723 games played, including 518 starts. He played in just 77 games over the final three seasons, including 24 in his lone season in Memphis, where he starred on a college team that advanced to the 2008 national championship game.