Indiana Pacers guard Darren Collison, at 31 years old, has announced his retirement from the NBA.
Collison announced his decision via The Undefeated. While he revealed that he still loves the game of basketball, the veteran guard said that he had to make the difficult decision to step away from basketball in order to focus on his family and his faith.
Basketball has been my life since I was a child. I could never imagine finding anything that brings me more joy than I get from playing the game. While I still love basketball, I know there is something more important, which is my family and my faith. I am one of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and my faith means everything to me. I receive so much joy from volunteering to help others and participate in a worldwide ministry. The joy I feel is unmatched.
With that being said, I have decided to retire from the NBA.
The former UCLA standout also paid tribute to players who helped him during his career in the NBA like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul and Stephen Curry. He said that these players pushed him to compete at a high level night in and night out.
Collison spent 10 years in the NBA, which includes stints with the New Orleans Pelicans, Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and the Indiana Pacers. In 76 games with the Pacers last season, he averaged 11.2 points on top of 6.0 assists and 3.1 rebounds.
Before announcing his retirement, the former first-round pick was linked to several teams who are looking for veteran help next season. Earlier this week, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers could pursue Collison if they strike out on their top targets in free agency.
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