Longtime NBA forward Nicolas Batum announced his retirement from the league after 18 seasons in a video posted to social media.
The video begins with a quote from Batum saying, “After 21 years, it’s time for me to go home.” The 6-foot-7 forward then enters a gym with his son who asks if it’s true that his father is retiring from basketball.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Batum says. “I’m done playing basketball.”
The gym in Pont-l’Évêque, Normandy, had special meaning for Batum, being where he began his basketball career.
Batum, 37, was the Houston Rockets’ 2008 first-round draft pick (No. 25 overall) after he played two seasons for Le Mans Sarthe in his native France.
However, he was traded on draft night to the Portland Trail Blazers for whom he played seven seasons, averaging 19.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Portland made it to the playoffs five times during his tenure, advancing to the second round once.
Following the 2014-15 season, Batum was traded to the Charlotte Hornets. He averaged 18.6 points and 8.5 boards with the Hornets, who made the playoffs only once during that span under head coaches Steve Clifford and James Borrego. Batum was limited to 22 games due to finger and hand injuries during the 2019-20 campaign.
Early in the 2020-21 season, Charlotte waived Batum and he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers for the first of two stints with the team. Early in the 2023-24 campaign, Batum was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of a seven-player, four-pick deal that moved James Harden to the Clippers.
After 57 games with the 76ers, Batum reportedly considered retirement but eventually re-signed with the Clippers on a two-year contract. He appeared in 152 games for the team during the past two seasons, averaging 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. He also averaged 42% shooting on 216 3-point attempts.
During his 18 NBA seasons, Batum scored 9.6 points per game with 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He was a career 37% 3-point shooter. He won silver medals with France at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Games, in addition to bronze medals at the 2014 and 2019 FIBA World Cups.
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