NBA Veteran Player Announces Retirement After 17 Seasons

By Brian Jones

An NBA player who has been in the league for 17 seasons is ending his pro basketball career. Lou Williams went to social media on Sunday to announce his retirement from the NBA. The announcement came in a video narrated by his daughter. Following the announcement, the Atlanta Hawks, one of Williams' former teams, called him an "Atlanta Legend."

Williams played for six teams in his NBA career, including the Philadelphia 76ers. He was drafted by the 76ers in the second round in 2005 and became a steady player on the bench for seven seasons. In 2012 Williams signed with the Hawks and was with the team for two seasons before being traded to the Toronto Raptors in June 2014. The 2014-2015 season was memorable for Williams, averaging 15.5 points off the bench, which led to him winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award. He won the award again in 2018 and 2019 after averaging 22.6 and 20 points per game, respectively, as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers. Williams also played for the Los Angeles Lakers (2015-2017) and Houston Rockets (2017) before returning to the Hawks for the 2021-2022 season. In his career, Williams scored 13,396 points off the bench, which stands as an NBA record. 

In an interview last year, Williams was asked if the thought of retirement scares him. "Not at all, I'm embracing it. I speak so freely about it because I don't know when I'll retire. I have the freedom to make that decision, whether it's this year, next year, or I wanna keep going... cuz I can still play at a high level. It's not a lack of talent, I think I'm just mentally in a space where I'm ready to give my energy to something else," Williams said, per Sports Illustrated. 

It's fitting that Williams ended his NBA career with the Hawks since he's from the Atlanta area. Williams played high school basketball at South Gwinning High School in Snellville, Georgia, and won the Naismith Prep Player of the Year in 2005. He was also named Mr. Georgia Basketball and selected to the Parade All-American team that same year. 

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