After playing in only 44 games since the start of the 2015-16 NBA season due to lingering hip issues, center Tiago Splitter has decided to hang up his sneakers and retire after playing seven seasons in the league with the San Antonio Spurs, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 33-year-old officially made his announcement on Monday via an interview with Brazilian television network SporTV.
“I am going to stop playing. It's a decision I've made these past few months, it's not something I want, but the hip injury I've been having is more troublesome than we thought. It's a difficult time because you stop doing something you've done a lifetime. I remember being on a basketball court as long as I remember. I talked to my family, my wife, everyone, and really, it's time to hang up the sneakers,” Splitter said.
Although he had surgery on his hip back in 2016, he had lingering effects and the other side of his hip began to hurt as well. It seems that Splitter is just no longer interested in putting his body
“I had surgery on the right side of my hip. It was all right. I put a piece of metal on the hip. I was the first to play with a prosthesis in the NBA. The other side started to hurt. I went to the same doctor. I resonated and saw that the cartilage was gone, it spent over time,” Splitter said.
Tiago Splitter spent the first five seasons of his NBA career with the Spurs after they selected him No. 28 overall in the 2010 NBA Draft. Over his five seasons in San Antonio, he averaged 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and helped the Spurs beat the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWHYXMpm9LM
Will we eventually see Splitter become part of legendary Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich's coaching staff, become involved with scouting or work in San Antonio's front office? Coach Pop has certainly hinted at it in the past and left the door open for Splitter to return.
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