WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — American basketball player Derrick Rose, the youngest ever NBA player to win the MVP award, announced his retirement on Thursday after 16 seasons.

The 35-year-old former Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks point guard posted a photo of himself on Instagram sitting on front of a chess set and holding a newspaper with a love letter to basketball.

He also took out pages in the local newspapers of the six NBA cities he played in — Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis — to thank each fanbase.

“The next chapter is about chasing my dreams and sharing my growth,” Rose told The Athletic.

“I believe true success comes from becoming who you were created to be, and I want to show the world who I am beyond basketball.

“Whether good or bad, everyone has a ‘what if’ story in their life. Even if I could, I wouldn’t change anything in mine, because it’s what helped me find real joy.”

The Memphis Grizzlies had this week granted Rose’s request to let him out of the final year of his two-year contract.

Rose arrived in the league in the 2008 draft, going to his hometown Chicago Bulls. He won the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year and was an All-Star the next three seasons.

The 6-ft 2-inch (1.91 metre) player became the youngest MVP in NBA history aged 22 years in 2010-11, when he averaged 25.0 points and 7.7 assists per game as the Bulls made a run to the Eastern Conference finals.

But his career was thrown off course after tearing his ACL during the first round of the 2012 playoffs. He missed the entire next season and was limited to only 10 games in 2013-14.

His eight-year run with the Bulls ended when he was traded to the New York Knicks during the 2016 offseason.

Often hampered by knee injuries Rose finished his career with an average of 17.4 points and 5.2 assists in 723 games played, including 518 starts.