But it seems there is more that links the two sports than initially meets the eye — just ask NBA legend Derrick Rose.
The 2011 NBA MVP has been leading a new and unlikely collaboration between the worlds of chess and professional basketball.
Rose recently teamed up with Magnus Carlsen’s Freestyle Chess to host a tournament, which involved top names from both disciplines. Players such as Golden State Warriors forward Quinten Post and Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams competed with and against several chess grandmasters in the 2025 Chesstival in Las Vegas.
NBA players partnered up with chess grandmasters in a Head & Hand format, where the chess star would name a piece and the basketball pro would decide where to move it. The NBA players then went head to head in a separate blitz tournament.
Rose took part in the tournament himself and he’s already planning on hosting a similar event again. The experience, he says, has helped him continue his education within the game.
It’s a passion that he started developing during his own basketball career and one that quickly turned into an obsession.
“I think just the thrill of knowing the possibilities is like no other game in the world,” he tells CNN Sports, adding that he initially picked up the game because of its cognitive health benefits.
“You get three million or four million possibilities right after the first move. And with me learning that knowledge early on, it kind of intrigued me.”
Chess Dreams
Rose says he had to take a step back from the game during his career in the NBA, with his new-found hobby taking up too much of his energy.
It got to the point where he would even picture his chess games in his sleep.
“The dreams were very intense, and while I was playing basketball, I never wanted anything to come equal to that, or jump that,” he says.
“Chess was kind of doing that. I’d be up late at night trying to play one game, then I’d look up, it’s two in the morning, and I got to be up at seven for treatment.”
With the world of chess riding the wave of a huge popularity boom in recent years, the game is increasingly collaborating more with mainstream leagues.
A number of high profile soccer and NFL stars have expressed their enthusiasm for chess, with several athletes from across a variety of sports crediting it with helping their own profession.
Rose is no different, insisting that learning the patterns and chess openings helped him see the basketball court a little differently.
“It teaches me to be mindful of every move,” he explains, clearly excited to talk about his love for chess.
“It taught me that every move counts and every choice is an option, and within every option, you have to make a decision.
“The fun thing about it is getting your ass kicked and coming back to the board and having a totally different scheme or style of play.
“I feel like over the years, I was just moving the pieces, but now I’m able to set up a gambit, or set up a trap. It taught me a lot, and I’m very, very fortunate that I found the game early on in my career.”