Who Is Retiring From The NBA This Year?

The NBA season is winding down, and that means it’s time to start thinking about which players will be retiring. Here are some of the biggest names who could be hanging up their sneakers for good this year.

Dwyane Wade

Thirteen-time NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade has announced he will retire from the NBA at the end of the 2018-19 season. Wade, who will turn 37 in January, is currently in his 16th and final NBA season. He has played for the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Thirteen-time All-Star

Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (/dweɪn/; born January 17, 1982) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A thirteen-time All-Star, Wade has earned NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player honors four times and won three NBA championships. He is the all-time leading scorer in Heat franchise history. Wade had the top selling jersey in the NBA for nearly two years, leading the league in jersey sales from the 2005 NBA Playoffs, until the midpoint of the 2006–07 season.[8]

After entering the league as the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA draft, Wade was named to the All-Rookie team and made an immediate impact by helping lead the Miami Heat to a playoff berth his first season. He averaged 16.2 points, 4.5 assists, and 5 rebounds per game (BPG) in his second year and was named to his first All-Star team one year later. In 2006, he led Miami to their first ever Championship win which resulted in Wade being named Finals MVP.[9][10] Wade would go on to win two more championships with LeBron James and Chris Bosh as his teammates; winning in 2012 and 2013.[11][12][13]

During his career with The Heat he has been selected to twelve All-Star teams (consecutive from 2005), twelve All-NBA teams (consecutive from 2005), and six All-Defensive teams (consecutive from 2009).[14] He has also led The Heat in scoring a total of seven times throughout his career.[15] In 2010, he left The Heat to join his hometown Chicago Bulls but returned to Miami four years later.[16][17]

Wade is considered one of basketball’s all time greatest shooting guards.[18] On February 26th 2020 it was announced that he would be retiring at seasons end after spending sixteen seasons in the NBA.

Three-time NBA champion

Dwyane Wade is a three-time NBA champion who has spent the last 16 seasons with the Miami Heat, averaging 22 points per game. He was drafted fifth overall in 2003 by the Heat and quickly became one of the best players in the league, winning his first championship in 2006. He has also won two gold medals with Team USA at the Olympics.

Dirk Nowitzki

One of the greatest players of his generation, Dirk Nowitzki, is set to retire from the NBA this year. Nowitzki has been a member of the Mavericks organization for his entire 21-year career and is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. He is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and will go down as one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

NBA’s sixth all-time leading scorer

Dirk Nowitzki is a German retired professional basketball player. An alumnus of the University of Wisconsin, he played his entire 21-season National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Dallas Mavericks, winning an NBA Championship in 2011. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time and as one of the best European players in NBA history. Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), he is remembered as one of the tallest players in NBA history. His bow-legged shooting style and fadeaway jumper awkward for a player his size helped him score often over taller defenders despite his relatively mediocre athleticism.

NBA Finals MVP

In 2011, Nowitzki was named the NBA Finals MVP after leading the Mavericks to their first ever NBA Championship. He was the first European-born player to receive the honor. Nowitzki averaged 26 points and 9 rebounds per game in the series, which the Mavericks won in 6 games.

Manu Ginobili

Four-time NBA champion

Manu Ginobili is a four-time NBA champion who is retiring from the league this year. A native of Argentina, Ginobili played for the San Antonio Spurs for his entire 16-year career. He helped lead the Spurs to championships in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. Ginobili was also a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning with Argentina in 2004 and 2008. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist

Ginobili was born and raised in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. His mother, Sylvia, is a professional basketball coach, and his father, Jorge, owns a timber company.[4][5] Ginóbili has two older brothers: Leandro and Sebastián.[6] He began playing competitive basketball at age five[7] in youth tournaments with his brothers. He started his professional basketball career in 1995 with the Argentinean club Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca. In 1996, he signed with the Italian club Reggiana,[8] winning the European second-tier level EuroCup title in his only season with the team.

In the summer of 2002, Ginóbili was selected 57th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA draft. In his first season with the Spurs (2002–03), he helped them win their second NBA championship while averaging 9.5 points per game off the bench.[9] For much of his early career Ginóbili played a limited role as a reserve behind All-Star shooting guard Manu Ginóbili and future Hall of Fame small forward LeBron James.[10][11]

In 2004–05, he was finally given a larger role and averaged 12 points per game as the Spurs swept James’s Cavaliers 4–0 in the NBA Finals to win their third championship in seven years;[12][13] this made Ginóbili one of only eight players to have won an NCAA title, EuroLeague title, and an NBA championship (the others being Clyde Lovellette,[14] Bill Russell,[15] Magic Johnson,[16] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,[16][17][18] Jo Jo White,[19][20][21] Jerry Lucas,[22][23][24] and James).[25][26]”

Vince Carter

Eight-time NBA All-Star

Vince Carter is an eight-time NBA All-Star, who played 22 seasons in the league. He was drafted fifth overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 1998 NBA draft, and then traded to the Toronto Raptors. He won the 1999 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and quickly became one of the league’s most exciting players. He was named an All-Star for the first time in 2000, and helped lead the Raptors to their first ever playoff appearance in 2001.

Carter became a free agent in 2004, and signed with the New Jersey Nets. He helped lead them to consecutive playoff appearances in 2005 and 2006. In 2009, he was traded to the Orlando Magic, where he spent five seasons. He signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2014, and played for them until he was traded back to Atlanta in 2018. He spent one season back with the Hawks before joining the Dallas Mavericks in 2019.

Carter announced his retirement from basketball on June 25th, 2020. In 1,541 games played (1,419 started), Carter averaged 17.2 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and 3.2 assists per game.

2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion

Vince Carter, the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion, is one of the league’s most exciting players. He is known for his high-flying dunks and three-point shooting. Carter has played for several teams during his 21-year NBA career, including the Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks. He will retire as a member of the Hawks.