NBA Players Retired Early: We would all want to see our favourite NBA players play indefinitely as fans. Unfortunately, because of age, injuries, and other circumstances, it is never the case. When we witness gifted athletes being forced to retire early for similar reasons, we feel particularly hollow within. A lot of basketball stars should never have had to put up their shoes for good, yet these men were forced to finish their careers at age 32 or younger.
NBA Players Who Retired Early
Check out the NBA players who retired early are given below:
1. Jay Williams – 22 Years Old
When point guard Jay Williams of Duke University entered the NBA Draft in 2002, he was regarded as one of the best overall prospects. The Chicago Bulls selected Williams second overall in the draft, and he was given the responsibility of bringing in a new era of Chicago basketball in the early 2000s. Williams averaged 9.5 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while playing in 75 games and 54 starts as a rookie with the Bulls while shooting 39.9% from the floor.
Then catastrophe hit. Williams would sustain career-ending injuries in a motorbike accident over the offseason. Among his medical conditions were three ruptured ligaments in his knee, including the ACL, and a shattered pelvis. His other injury from the incident, a severed nerve, was the most damaging to his playing career. Williams’s career on the court was all but ended, and it took him months to regain use of his leg.
The Bulls moved fast to get Williams’ successor. They selected Kirk Hinrich with the seventh overall choice in the 2003 draft, one week after the horrifying incident.
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2. Andrew Bynum – 27 Years Old
The Los Angeles Lakers had great expectations for the 7-foot New Jersey high school player when they selected Andrew Bynum with the 10th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. After taking a while to adjust to the Lakers’ system, Bynum played in 46 games as a rookie off the bench and 29 games off the bench with 53 starts the next season, scoring just 5.6 points and grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game on average.
When Bynum got on the floor during the following couple of seasons as a starter, he was outstanding. Due to nagging foot and knee problems that would eventually lead to his demise, Bynum did not play in more than 65 games for the Lakers in any season from 2008 to 2012.
He averaged 14.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and a shooting percentage of 57.2% per game over those seasons. Bynum started every game for the Lakers during their 2010 run, which helped them win back-to-back NBA titles in 2009 and 2010.
Bynum’s only All-Star season came in 2012 when he averaged 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Bynum would be traded to the 76ers that summer in exchange for Dwight Howard’s return to Los Angeles. Due to a knee injury, Bynum would miss the whole 2012–13 season. He would play just 26 games in 2013–14 before retiring at the end of the season.
3. Brandon Roy – 27 Years Old
The brilliance and extraordinary skill that Brandon Roy showed throughout his brief tenure are still discussed among NBA players, supporters, and media members. Roy was traded to Portland in exchange for Randy Foye, despite being the sixth overall choice by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2006 NBA Draft. Roy would thrive in Portland, winning Rookie of the Year despite playing in just 57 games.
Roy would go on to become an All-Star for the next three seasons, finishing each game with an average of 21.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.1 steals. In addition to being selected twice for the All-NBA Team, he helped Portland make it to the playoffs three times.
He would play just 47 games in 2010–11 before hanging up his boots for the 2011–12 season. Roy attempted to make a comeback with the Timberwolves in 2012–13, but his stint was brief; he averaged 5.8 points while playing 24.4 minutes per game.
4. Greg Oden – 28 Years Old
Greg Oden’s name is always one of the first mentioned when discussing the NBA players retired early throughout the years. When Oden was selected first overall by the Trail Blazers in the 2007 NBA Draft, he was more than simply a bright college prospect. He was intended to be the Trail Blazers’ saviour, along with LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.
Things did not work out since he missed his whole rookie season due to lingering knee and foot issues from college. Oden would appear in just 82 games over the next two seasons, averaging 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per contest. Oden would never play another game for Portland in his career after the 2009–10 campaign.
The same knee ailment that sidelined Oden in his rookie season also kept him out of action for the following three seasons. Oden tried his hand at a comeback with the Miami Heat in 2013–14. Before he permanently retired at the end of the season, he participated in 23 games and averaged 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in just 9.2 minutes of action.
5. Brad Daugherty – 28 Years Old
He was given the responsibility of helping the Cleveland Cavaliers, who at the time were an insignificant NBA team, turn things around when they picked him with the first overall choice in 1986. Over the course of the following eight seasons, Daugherty would do just that, averaging 19.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 53.2% shooting per game.
But Daugherty was much more than the statistics he presented. In addition, he was their interior defensive anchor, a five-time NBA All-Star, and a 1992 All-NBA Team pick. His tenure with the Cavaliers in the early 1990s produced some fantastic playoff matchups between the team and the Chicago Bulls, who included Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan.
One of the biggest “what-ifs” in Cleveland and NBA history would remain unanswered as Daugherty would be unable to play for the next two seasons before retiring permanently.
6. Larry Sanders – 28 Years Old
In the instance of Larry Sanders, a series of unfavourable events and miscommunications resulted in his early retirement in 2017 at the age of 28. The Milwaukee Bucks selected Sanders with the fifteenth overall pick in 2010. In his first two seasons, he played off the bench for them and received praise for his effort and defensive ability. With an NBA career-high average of 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game, his third season in 2012–13 would be his finest. In the poll for Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year, he placed in the top 10.
Unfortunately, Sanders was dealing with mental health problems that were considerably more severe than anyone could have imagined, even if everything appeared to be OK on the surface. Although Sanders had previously broken the NBA’s drug rules several times by using marijuana, he made the decision to take a full year off from the game in 2015–16 in order to concentrate on his mental health.
He made an effort at a return with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016–17, but it only lasted five games before he announced his permanent retirement.
7. Yao Ming – 30 Years Old
Yao Ming was already a global basketball celebrity when the Houston Rockets selected him as the first overall choice in 2002. At the start of the game, Yao was one of the most physically intimidating players due to his enormous height of 7’6″ and weight of 310 lbs.
His performance lived up to expectations, as he averaged 19.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game and went on to become an All-Star in each of his eight seasons of basketball. He also earned five nominations to the All-NBA Team. In the 2000s, his in-taet sparring matches with Shaquille O’Neal also became renowned. Unfortunately, Yao’s bulk would soon catch up to him as he suffered from a number of foot problems over the years, ending with him missing the whole 2009–10 campaign.
After making a comeback for five games in 2010–11, Yao, one of the best NBA players retired early at the age of 30 after concluding that his body could not withstand the demanding demands of an NBA schedule.
8. Gilbert Arenas – 30 Years Old
Gilbert Arenas was one of the best point guards in the NBA in the 2000s before he became the flamboyant figure we see on YouTube and social media today. Arenas was moved to the Washington Wizards following his two seasons with the Warriors, where he was named the team’s Most Improved Player in 2003. Few guards in the NBA from 2005 to 2007 were as good as him, having been selected three times in a row for both the All-Star and All-NBA Team teams.
Arenas played barely 15 games in 2008 and 2009 due to injuries, but he came back to the court in 2009–10 with great expectations. A dispute between him and teammate Javaris Crittenton erupted into violence after just 32 games when the players pulled loaded guns on one another within the Wizards practice area. Arenas suffered a severe blow to his reputation as well as a season-long suspension as a result.
Arenas would play two more seasons, totalling 87 games until he announced his retirement and made an effort to play in China in 2012–13.
9. Darren Collison – 31 Years Old
Over the course of his 11-year NBA career, Darren Collison played for six different clubs. Collison was selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the 21st overall pick in 2009, and he played his rookie season there before being traded to the Indiana Pacers. Collison played for the Mavericks, Clippers, Kings, and Pacers once more over the course of the following nine seasons until retiring in 2018–19.
Throughout his NBA career, Collison averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Collison mentioned his religion—Jehovah’s Witness—as justification for quitting at such a young age in 2019. He would try to return to the Lakers in 2021–2022, but that would only last three games.
10. Chris Bosh – 32 Years Old
Among the greatest power forwards to ever play the position is Chris Bosh. Bosh contributed to the dawning of the stretch-forward era in the 2000s and 2010s, which has reached unprecedented heights since his NBA days. The Raptors selected Bosh fourth overall in the 2003 draft, and he joined them to start his career. Bosh would average 20.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for Toronto over the course of the following seven seasons, earning four All-Star selections and one All-NBA Team selection.
Bosh made the decision to join Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in Miami in 2010, where he would spend the remainder of his playing career. In Miami, Bosh would go on to become a six-time All-Star and win two NBA titles in 2012 and 2013, in addition to playing in four games. The first indications that Bosh’s health was failing were abnormal heartbeats in 2015–16. It was discovered later in the season that Bosh had a blood clot issue, which would require him to retire at the age of just thirty-two.
Bosh still had a lot of life left in his NBA career, but events beyond his control ended his career. Because of his remarkable career, he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2021.
These are the NBA players who retired early. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
