ESPN’s Jalen Rose Breaks Down Honoring Late Mother: ‘We Were Supposed To Be A Statistic’

Overcome with emotion, former basketball star Jalen Rose broke down in tears Sunday on ESPN’s NBA Countdown as he honored his late mother.

“This is the first time in my life that I didn’t have my mother or grandmother on Mother’s Day,” Rose said. “It’s been tough, for me and my family, but I’m gonna be strong. I got a lot of people who rely on me, a lot of people who love me, lot of people who believe in me.”

During the Mother’s Day tribute, ESPN aired a video montage explaining how Jeanne Rose created the name Jalen for her son. Deriving as a combination of his father James and maternal uncle Leonard, “Jalen” did not land on popular name charts until after Rose became a star basketball player at Michigan, according to BabyNames.com.

“She had two kids when she graduated from high school. We were supposed to be a statistic,” Rose said. “It’s really tough, I’m just happy that the name Jalen is going to carry our legacy, carry her legacy.”

ESPN’s Maria Taylor walked over to console her NBA Countdown colleague, placing her hand on Rose’s shoulder and said, “you are a living, breathing monument of your mom.”

“We fell in love with basketball together,” Rose added. “My father played in the league and to not know him, she was like, ‘You’re going to make it, you’re going to get us out the hood, I promise you.’ And I was like ‘I’m going to do it ma.’ And I did it. And we did it.”

Jeanne Rose, founder of the name Jalen, passed away from lung cancer earlier this year at the age of 79.

Watch above via, ESPN