EXCLUSIVE
Derrick Rose is turning to Tupac Shakur in the hopes of getting the judge to force his rape accuser to reveal her identity during the trial ... TMZ Sports has learned.
As we previously reported, Rose believes it's completely unfair for his accuser to hide behind a pseudonym while trashing him and talking about the case to the media.
The judge initially ruled she must use her real name -- but the woman is fighting back and Rose has filed new court docs arguing why she must be unmasked.
So, to help convince a judge to see it his way, Rose dug up Tupac Shakur's old sexual assault case -- a case in which a judge forced the rapper's accuser to reveal her identity.
Brief history lesson ... Tupac was convicted of 1st degree sexual assault over a 1993 incident in which the rapper forced a 19-year-old woman to perform oral sex on him and his friends.
Pac served 9 months in prison for the crime and was then sued in civil court -- where the woman tried to use a pseudonym to protect her identity.
Tupac objected -- and the judge sided with him ... claiming the woman and her legal team tried to gain a "tactical advantage" in the case through public statements trashing Pac ... and it wasn't fair.
Now, in the new court docs filed by Rose, he cites Tupac's case and says the situations are almost identical -- with his accuser looking to bash him in the media to gain an unfair advantage in the courtroom.
"Mr. Rose would be placed at a serious disadvantage if he were required to defend himself publicly while Ms. Doe could make her accusations from behind a cloak of anonymity."
The judge is set to rule on the matter on Thursday. Stay tuned ...