According to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, Miami Heat forward Shane Battier will likely retire following this season.
He has had a great career and is hoping to finish it strong with a three-peat. Battier still has a decently sized role with the Heat, but it doesn’t appear that he has all that much left in the tank.
“In all honesty, this is probably my last year, and so, I’m not saving myself for anything. My mindset is really, ‘Just go ’til the wheels fall off.’ If that means I crash and burn at Christmas, that’s the way I go out. But I’m not saving myself for anything. My role now, with this starting lineup, is just playing my tail off and bring energy and, you know, go as long as I can go.” – Shane Battier
Battier is currently averaging 4.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game so far through 13 games. He is still a very good veteran to have on the team and can knock down the three-ball when needed, but he’s just not too much more than that at this point in his career.
He’s in his 14th NBA season and at the age of 35, he is beginning to look towards life after basketball.
So far this season, Battier has been the starting power forward for the Miami Heat. He isn’t the right size for a power forward, so his body has already been taking a beating throughout the early stages of this season. It will be very interesting to see how he’s able to hold up as the season goes along and the playoffs arrive. Obviously, those days are quite a ways in the future so we can’t waste time looking that far ahead, but it is certainly something to think about.
Shane Battier has been one of the classiest acts in the NBA through his career. He has shown that he cares off the court and that he is one of the hardest workers as well. There’s no question that he will be missed following his retirement.
Related articles
LeBron’s 39 points lift Heat past Mavs, 110-104
