Players that You Never Imagined Declining/Retiring

[DoubleLintendre]

It's unrealistic to expect players, even all time greats, to maintain the same high level of play as they age. Father time is truly undefeated.

But I think we have all thought of certain players as "ageless" and often when we see players dominate in their prime, we almost can't picture them ever declining or forcibly retiring from the game because of health/declining play.

The player I have in mind is Steve Nash. I pretty much starting watching basketball because of Steve. Even though I missed out on watching prime Nash, he was still a great offensive player through his mid-late 30s. If someone told me pre-Lakers trade that Nash was going to spend the last two years of his career completely injured and a non-contributor for his team-- I wouldn't have believed it.

I mean Steve was never a jump-out-of-the-gym athlete and his elite skills, passing and shooting, age well. He is also a crafty high IQ player that you came to expect wouldn't give you much defense. Steve also was in great physical shape and conditioned well throughout his 30s. I didn't see any reason for him not to be capable contributor through his early 40s.

Because of all this I figured that Nash would get a ring somewhere before he retired. But instead his career came to a screeching halt and one of the greatest PGs of all time will end his career has fallen into obscurity, with his final attempts at playing useful basketball rendered completely futile.

Some other players that I can think of that surprised me with their NBA exits/endings are Gilbert Arenas and Brandon Roy. Gerald Wallace's decline was also sudden, sad and unexpected (at least to me).

Other great NBA players like Tim Duncan, and even Kobe to an extent, have defied father time and continued to play at a high level. What currently players have you pictured playing on until infinity? What players have you followed in the past that shocked you with their declines?

[SlowPaced]

Deron Williams, no question. I still have no idea what the hell is up with the guy.

[Makaveli DaDon]

Lebron and dirk

[JaysRule15]

Wade's decline was certainly pretty rapid. He went from being one of the best performers in the league to being on maintenance programs.

[NaturalBuns]

Deron Williams, no question. I still have no idea what the hell is up with the guy.

I think deron and boozer are exactly why Sloan is a HOF coach.
He made them play to high levels.


Gilbert Arenas.. But idk if it was skill decline or off court issues
Probably a mix of both

[Nowitness]

Dirk. He's never had a regression in his career, I don't think he'll ever truly quit producing, stats may just go down due to lower minutes, and he's still hitting 20 right now under 30 minutes a game. Crazy.

[JeepCSC]

Growing up, I saw Magic disappear in the blink of an eye, Jordan retire at his pinnacle, and Hakeem go from All-World to Toronto stiff in a couple years. See all that, and you realize not to take anyone for granted. This is a cruel sport where greatness is fleeting.

[SlowPaced]

Deron Williams, no question. I still have no idea what the hell is up with the guy.

I think deron and boozer are exactly why Sloan is a HOF coach.
He made them play to high levels.

I think Sloan's contribution to Deron comes from the mental side of things. Deron was always really talented. When he was in the Top PG conversation, I'd always think "How on earth is this guy not a proper "superstar"?" He had great playmaking skills, fantastic handles, was one of the best jump shooting point guards, was one of the strongest point guards, was an underrated athlete who was deceptively quick. The guy is massively uncompetitive. Sloan kept him motivated.

[boomershadow]

Ray Allen.

Nobody even knows if he is retired for real or not, but a lot of teams still want him.

[Wisky4life]

Drew Gooden, no doubt about it. But in reality, probably Kobe, going to be weird without him.

[tiderulz]

Some other players that I can think of that surprised me with their NBA exits/endings are Gilbert Arenas and Brandon Roy. Gerald Wallace's decline was also sudden, sad and unexpected (at least to me).

Gilbert and Brandon Roy i can see, because of injuries. I dont remember any significant injuries that would have led to Wallace's lightning quick demise

[berkkobe7]

Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James. I remember the day they drafted. 11 years flew fast.


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[DoubleLintendre]

Some other players that I can think of that surprised me with their NBA exits/endings are Gilbert Arenas and Brandon Roy. Gerald Wallace's decline was also sudden, sad and unexpected (at least to me).

Gilbert and Brandon Roy i can see, because of injuries. I dont remember any significant injuries that would have led to Wallace's lightning quick demise

I'm not talking necessarily players who decline/retire because of major injuries.

I didn't picture Wallace declining as fast as he has. He went from a very good starter, to a garbage minutes player over 3 seasons just because he had slowly lost athleticism from injuries.

[Paz]

Iverson's downfall was rapid and brutal. His height was never going to allow him to age gracefully once his athleticism dropped. The reason he was so damn effective was because of his endless energy and blazing fast first step. Once that left he was done... son.

[Cavs1017]

AI, Shaq.

Kobe.

Kobe...

[whatchaknow]

Some other players that I can think of that surprised me with their NBA exits/endings are Gilbert Arenas and Brandon Roy. Gerald Wallace's decline was also sudden, sad and unexpected (at least to me).

Gilbert and Brandon Roy i can see, because of injuries. I dont remember any significant injuries that would have led to Wallace's lightning quick demise

I'm not talking necessarily players who decline/retire because of major injuries.

I didn't picture Wallace declining as fast as he has. He went from a very good starter, to a garbage minutes player over 3 seasons just because he had slowly lost athleticism from injuries.

As a Blazer fan i will say it probably came quicker than i thought but i could definitely see the signs of the decline coming. I mean the guy never added any sort of jumper and his finishing around the rim really started to diminish. I used to love the energy and passion he played with but he also seemed to lose a bunch of that when he went to Brooklyn. He fed off the Portland crowd a lot in the last year with us, his home/road splits were pretty remarkable if i remember right

[Cracklenuts]

Tracy Mcgrady, Iverson.

[B2Bhoops]

Obviously I don't hold any delusions.

Some players that come to mind that haven't been mentioned, not because I expected them to last forever, but more because of just how they went out:

T-mac
Yao
Steve Francis

Kobe to me so far is the opposite of this given his injuries which weren't age related. It's how I expect someone like him to go out. It hasn't been super pretty so far but he isn't going out like a bitch. He didn't just give up and vanish one day. He has everyone talking about him, and a lot of that has to do with the things he has been able to do given his circumstances.

[DoubleLintendre]

Gilbert and Brandon Roy i can see, because of injuries. I dont remember any significant injuries that would have led to Wallace's lightning quick demise

I'm not talking necessarily players who decline/retire because of major injuries.

I didn't picture Wallace declining as fast as he has. He went from a very good starter, to a garbage minutes player over 3 seasons just because he had slowly lost athleticism from injuries.

As a Blazer fan i will say it probably came quicker than i thought but i could definitely see the signs of the decline coming. I mean the guy never added any sort of jumper and his finishing around the rim really started to diminish. I used to love the energy and passion he played with but he also seemed to lose a bunch of that when he went to Brooklyn. He fed off the Portland crowd a lot in the last year with us, his home/road splits were pretty remarkable if i remember right

His game was all based on hustle and athleticism so when those things started to give he was pretty done. I saw him in Portland, and yeah I could see it coming as well. But even so he was, what, just turning 30 at that time?

T-Mac's decline was pretty hard to picture since his peak was so insane.

[bondom34]

OP actually had mine, was gonna say Nash too, and he fell so fast.