Nicolas Batum announced his retirement from the NBA after 18 seasons on Monday, Sept. 21.
In a nearly 10-minute-long video posted to his Instagram account, the 37-year-old wing walked into Gym Even in Pont-l’Évêque, France – the same one where he started playing basketball exactly 35 years ago to the day on Sept. 21, 1991, when he was two-and a half years old, by his account. This time, Batum brought his son, Ayden, with him.
“You don’t want me to retire?” Batum asked Ayden as they sat on the wooden bleachers.
“No,” Ayden replied.
“Should I keep playing basketball?”
“Yes.”
“No,” Batum said with a sense of finality. “It’s over.”
The Frenchman’s stat sheet won’t make anyone’s eyes pop. He was never an All-Star, let alone a star. But Batum had an undeniable respect from his peers in every locker room he stepped foot in.
He spaced the floor well with his shooting ability and his tendency to get the ball to his teammates and on the defensive side of the ball, Batum’s 6-7 frame and 7-1 wingspan gave him the versatility to defend multiple positions. He was a crucial role player in his early years with a Portland Trail Blazers squad that made the playoffs in six of his seven seasons. Batum was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in 2015, where he spent the next five years before signing with the Los Angeles Clippers in December 2020 on the minimum.
That’s where Batum spent the remaining six years of his career – well, five and some change. He was briefly traded to the Philadelphia 76ers five games into the 2023-24 season as part of the James Harden trade and returned to L.A. the following summer on a two-year, $9.6 million deal.
In that time, Batum shot 40.3% from three, opening up the floor for star teammates such as Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Harden. He was also part of the Clippers’ historic playoff run 2020-21 in which they reached the Western Conference Finals for the first and only time in franchise history.
His leadership was on display in its most public form in the Netflix documentary, “Court of Gold,” chronicling the 2024 Paris Olympics basketball tournament. Batum, the captain for Les Bleus in his final Olympics, was featured prominently as he and the rest of team France attempted to dethrone the United States and win gold in their home country. He served as the heartbeat of the team, delivering fiery halftime speeches and advice to Victor Wembanyama.
As he explained in the video, Batum is ready for what’s next. He’s done sacrificing, he’s done missing out on moments in Ayden’s life. For the last 25 years, he chose the game. Now, he’s choosing his life outside of that.
“When you’ve played as much basketball as I have, you have to know when to stop,” Batum told his son. “… You spend 20, 25 years playing basketball, that’s what you know yourself as. Right now, you practice all the time. That was my life, too. I practiced all the time. That’s probably what I’ll miss; the competition, the games. It’s the life you’ve known for 25 years.
“I’ll miss it, but that’s not what I’m looking for anymore.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘It’s over’: Nicolas Batum announces retirement from NBA after 18 years
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