It doesn’t feel that long ago that David Lee was putting up double-doubles on a near nightly basis for a young Warriors team with his knack for cleaning up the glass and his soft touch around the rim.
Lee, who hasn’t been on an NBA roster this season, announced his retirement from the NBA Sunday evening after 13 NBA seasons.
Lee averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in his NBA career as a member of the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, and made two NBA All-Star appearances, once as a Knick and once as a Warrior.
He won an NBA title in a limited role with the Warriors in the 2014-15 season after his role was taken over by Draymond Green and he averaged a double-double four times in his NBA career.
At 34 years old, never the most fleet of foot or athletic big man on the NBA level, he didn’t possess the lift anymore to be able to be as effective around the rim or on the glass and hadn’t had a major role on a team in four or five seasons.
One crazy stat about Lee’s career, especially in the era of basketball we have today, is the fact that he made only one three-point shot in his NBA career, going 1-for-27.
While it wasn’t a storybook ending for Lee, 13 seasons, a couple all-star appearances and an NBA championship is a pretty awesome career.
