Derrick Rose Back With Knicks After Brutal COVID-19 Battle: ‘I Never Felt Anything Like That Before’

Derrick Rose officially rejoined the New York Knicks on Monday after a lengthy battle with COVID-19, though he’s not sure when he’ll actually be able to take the court again.

Rose, who landed in New York in February after spending the first half of the year with the Detroit Pistons, last played on Feb. 28. He was then diagnosed with the coronavirus days later, something he said was worse than anything else he’s ever experienced. He had “all the symptoms.”

“They say everybody is different, but with me I never felt anything like that before,” Rose said on Monday, via The Associated Press. “I’ve had the flu. It was nothing like the flu.

“It was that times 10. So like I said, I’m slowly getting back. I’m progressing every day and just trying to get back in the swing of things.”

‘He’s just starting to ramp it up again’

Rose was traded to the Knicks in February in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr. and a 2021 second-round draft pick, officially sending him back to New York after his brief stint there during the 2016-17 season.

Rose averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 assists in 10 games with the Knicks, and went a perfect 3-0 when he was in the starting lineup. Yet Rose contracted the coronavirus less than a month after the trade, and missed the Knicks’ final two games before the All-Star break and their six since the season resumed.

Rose said he couldn’t really work out at all while he was sick at home, either. While he said he’s just been slowly trying to get “back and playing in rhythm” again, both Rose and Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau know it may be a while before he can actually compete again.

“He has to go through conditioning and once he’s ready to go we’ll move forward with it,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said, via The Associated Press. “But he’s been out for a while now so he’s just starting to ramp it up again and we’ll see how it goes.”