Players who retired too early?

[ThaSwagg3r]

Who do you think still had something left in the tank but retired too soon?

[Teanett]

robert parish and james edwards

[chains5000]

Spreewell

[LJJ]

Jordan 1st retirement ;)

[Tha Catalyst]

Spreewell
+1

If only his kids weren't so hungry

[pauk]

magic johnson
larry bird

but whatever... birds spine was like slit out... and magic could continue but he didnt want to give to many ppl a disease...

[QuebecBaller]

Penny

If he went back to Phoenix can take the same magic potion Grant Hill took, he could had some good years

[InspiredLebowski]

Zeke. Retired at 32, last year was 15/7 before Penny injured him to try and steal his shine. Kidding about Penny.

[Doctor Rivers]

Barry Sanders

[KrizMiz]

Shaq

[pauk]

James White.... 6 games or something... then BAM! au revoir..... but he got a RING...

so... James White > Lebron right?

[RazorBaLade]

magic johnson
larry bird

but whatever... birds spine was like slit out... and magic could continue but he didnt want to give to many ppl a disease...

what was he gonna **** someone in the ass in the middle of a ball game?

he retired because back then it was the equivalent of cancer and no chemo. ppl thought he would die

[pauk]

what was he gonna **** someone in the ass in the middle of a ball game?

he retired because back then it was the equivalent of cancer and no chemo. ppl thought he would die

ofcourse.... how else did he got the disease in the first place? :confusedshrug:

[Laimbeer_Rodman]

robert parish and james edwards
:lol

[guy]

magic johnson
larry bird

but whatever... birds spine was like slit out... and magic could continue but he didnt want to give to many ppl a disease...

Then that means Bird didn't retire too early.

[Phong]

LeBron... he always retires in the 3rd quarter.

[Rojogaqu11]

Marbury.
Francis.
Iverson.
Antoine Walker.

[j3lademaster]

Tiki Barber.

[HylianNightmare]

mikki moore

[mountainmamba]

Kevin Willis

[boozehound]

Zeke. Retired at 32, last year was 15/7 before Penny injured him to try and steal his shine. Kidding about Penny.
stupid karl malone

[Mr. I'm So Rad]

LeBron. Wish he wouldn't have retired before the finals last season

[knickswin]

Sprewell is a good call.

[MeLO MvP 15]

Latrell "I need more than $21 million to feed my children" Spreewell.

Also Allen Iverson, but I think that's more of the NBA essentially black listing him and nobody wanting him anymore. Also, I think there's a decent chance he's back.

[swi7ch]

lebron james

[Kensta]

I know he had to due to injuries, but, Yao Ming!

[MrRogers]

James Worthy retired at 33. I think he could've gave 2-3 more years.

Isiah Thomas retiring at 32 was a shame.

[L8kersfan222]

LBJ23 (Queen James)

[guy]

Also Allen Iverson, but I think that's more of the NBA essentially black listing him and nobody wanting him anymore. Also, I think there's a decent chance he's back.

Really? Why do you think that? I would love to see it, but I doubt it will happen.

[MeLO MvP 15]

Really? Why do you think that? I would love to see it, but I doubt it will happen.
Because AI's always had heart and reports recently stated that he's contacted NBA trainers to help get in shape and get back to the NBA. I think he could fit in New Jersey, New Orleans or Phoenix (it's actually a coincidence that those 3 teams have 3 of the best PGs, it just so happens all 3 need a SG and scorer).

[Hondo]

Jordan, 3 times (93, 98, 03). He should have played until about 45, and taken the all time scoring record from Kareem. Then, he would have GOAT status. No one could ever question it. He would have the peak argument and the longevity argument, and maybe a few more titles to come closer to Bill.

Magic. He should have told Karl Malone to get f*cked.

Isiah Thomas. I would have liked to see him try and bounce back. He might have had a few more seasons of contributing as a starter.

Karl Malone. I guess you don't recover well from knee injuries at 40, and the team was imploding. He should have gone to the Spurs for a season to team with Timmy, and get a ring and then retire. He was still capable of playing 30 mpg and starting. Next to Tim would have made life easy.

Yao Ming. Give it one more shot ol' boy!

Wilt Chamberlain. He could have played until the 80's without a problem. But if he became a 5 ppg/ 5 rpg player, he would have cost his legacy a lot. But the fact that teams still wanted him when he was 45 and 50 shows you that he would have been a very good center for a lot longer.

Steve Francis. He should have tried battling back. I know he had some good left in him.



People mentioning Larry Bird are crazy. If you watched any of the Dream Team games, you'd see how screwed he was. That's what you get when your supserstar is also your best hustle guy.

Jordan is by far the most notable on this list. He really is a disappointment.

[Ben Jordan]

Magic. He should have told Karl Malone to get f*cked.

What?

[Hondo]

What?

Despite his retirement, Johnson was voted by fans as a starter for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game at Orlando Arena, although his former teammates Byron Scott and A. C. Green said that Johnson should not play,[77] and several NBA players, including Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone, argued that they would be at risk of contamination if Johnson suffered an open wound while on court.[78] Johnson led the West to a 153

[GiveItToBurrito]

Magic. Even as a power forward in 96, he was still a really really good player. He could have had an even longer career than Kidd will and I'd have loved to see him play almost an Odom role with Kobe and Shaq.

[Sampsonsimpson]

Definitely Jamal Mashburn.

He was only 31 and went out with a 20 PPG season. And the year before that had a 21/6/5 season.

[LebronairJAMES]

Who do you think still had something left in the tank but retired too soon?
your mum retired to early on that slut game
and lose some weight you fat bitch swagger
http://therecshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/fat_midget_stripper.jpg

[Chalkmaze]

- Isiah Rider
- Bison Dele
- Roni Seikaly
- Keon Clark

[MichaelCheazley]

I think Rasheed Wallace still had something left had he gotten into decent shape. Also I think reggie miller could have played a couple more years just due to his style of play.

[jlauber]

Hondo mentioned Chamberlain, but I will expand. In his LAST season, at age 36, he was voted first-team all-defense (against the likes of Cowens, Thurmond, Lanier, Hayes, and Kareem); he LED the NBA in rebounding at 18.6 rpg (Thurmond was next at 17.1 rpg); and he shot .727 from the field, which is a record that will probably never be approached. And, in the process, he finsihed 4th in the MVP balloting, and guided him team to a 60-22 record, and a trip to the Finals, where with an injured West, they lost four close games to the Knicks in the Finals. And in the playoffs that season, he averaged 22.5 rpg and played 47.1 mpg (and he played every minute in the Finals), covering 17 games.

And Hondo was right about team's pursuing him into his late 40's, and even into his 50's. Larry Brown is on record as having watched Chamberlain shut down players like Magic and Marques Johnson in a summer league in the early 80's...when Wilt was in his mid-40's. And Kiki Vandewege witnessed a summer league game in which an angry Chamberlain backed down 7-4 Mark Eaton, and jammed home a thunderous dunk on him...and Wilt was, again, in his mid 40's.

Here is an interesting SI article from 1986, and when Chamberlain turned 50...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065131/index.htm

[QUOTE]Chamberlain was on holiday on the Adriatic in the summer of '74 when it occurred to him that he would finally hang it up. It wasn't anything dramatic that made him quit. Good Lord, he could sure still play. ([B]Twelve years later, just this past April, the New Jersey Nets reportedly offered him nearly half a million dollars to play out the last couple weeks of the NBA season

[iDunk]

I honestly think Bruce Bowen could've played 2-3 more seasons.

[MontaEllis24]

Lebron
retired before the 4th quarter
sorry couldnt resist.......

[gotbacon23]

i know he left cause of back problems but what about brad daugherty?

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/2986/611970-brad_daugherty_large.jpg


Retired at 28 years old having already made 5 all-star teams.

Averaged 19.0 ppg 9.5 rpg 3.7 apg and shot 53.2% for his career.
Averaged 17.0 ppg 10.2 rpg 3.0 apg in his last season (1993-94).

It's crazy how good centers were in the 1990s when Daugherty gets overlooked all the time. If he were in the league now, he would be the 2nd best center in the league behind Howard. It's really impressive he made 5 all-star games considering the other eastern conference centers that were all-stars in his time were all named top-50 players ever in 1997 (Moses Malone, Patrick Ewing, Robert Parish, Shaquille O'Neal).

[FatComputerNerd]

i know he left cause of back problems but what about brad daugherty?

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/2986/611970-brad_daugherty_large.jpg


Retired at 28 years old having already made 5 all-star teams.

Averaged 19.0 ppg 9.5 rpg 3.7 apg and shot 53.2% for his career.
Averaged 17.0 ppg 10.2 rpg 3.0 apg in his last season (1993-94).

It's crazy how good centers were in the 1990s when Daugherty gets overlooked all the time. If he were in the league now, he would be the 2nd best center in the league behind Howard. It's really impressive he made 5 all-star games considering the other eastern conference centers that were all-stars in his time were all named top-50 players ever in 1997 (Moses Malone, Patrick Ewing, Robert Parish, Shaquille O'Neal).

Daughtery > Howard

[gotbacon23]

Daughtery > Howard

offensively, yes. defensively, that's hard to justify.

[kaiiu]

Kareem an Shaq come to mind.

[senelcoolidge]

Chamberlain had a heart condition and almost retired back in the 60's when he was in his prime. He was one of all ages. He could have dominated even in his 40's..scary.

[pegasus]

Allan Houston's name should be mentioned, too. He retired in 05 due to injuries, only two years after averaging a career high ppg, (22.5).

[GOBB]

Bobby Hurley.

[MiseryCityTexas]

david thompson due to crack. leaving the nba at 29 is way too young for a player of his skillset, but crack will do that to your career.

isiah thomas due to injuries.

[Rowe]

Allan Houston's name should be mentioned, too. He retired in 05 due to injuries, only two years after averaging a career high ppg, (22.5).

Allan Houston's knee was damaged beyond repair. He attempted a comeback but he just lost all lateral agility, lift, and it wasnt going to come back. Actually the last play he attempted was a jumpshot in which he landed like normal, but the pain was too much in his knee. Thats when he decided to hang it up.

[Rowe]

Magic. Even as a power forward in 96, he was still a really really good player. He could have had an even longer career than Kidd will and I'd have loved to see him play almost an Odom role with Kobe and Shaq.

This.

People forget that he was getting into his groove finally getting back out there on the court. He definetly could've played the 1996-1997 season and maybe even 2-3 more years after that. People forget he didnt retire due to any injury and was still in his prime, he was physically 100% outside of the HIV diagnosis.

[DuMa]

bison dele (brian williams)

[Blzrfn]

What about Pistol Pete? He wasn't that old when he retired, was he?

[ukplayer4]

i always felt like drexler went a year too early, in 98 he was still a really great and dynamic scorer and put up like 20/5/5, the following year they got pippen and it would have been so great to have seen 4 of the alltime 50 on the same team, all starting and no one need play out of position. might have been a big difference maker

[33teeth]

How can anyone be suggesting Shaq? Dude is a huge fat man that can't stay healthy. He was great but his time is past.

[SevereUpInHere]

Reggie Miller could have helped teams off the bench for another couple of seasons I thought.

[jlauber]

Players like Shaq, Kareem, and even MJ probably played a little too long, but why not? Kareem was a 15-6 .532 player on a title team in 87-88. He came back one more season in hopes of a "three-peat", and had Magic and Scott not been injured in the Finals, who knows? Shaq was still a productive part-time player in his last couple of seasons, and given the fact that the NBA had a dearth of quality centers, he was probably still as good as most. And, had MJ retired after the '98 season, in which he was still regarded as the best player in the league...he would have always wondered "what-if?" As it was, he was still a 20 ppg scorer a couple of years after retiring, and well past his prime.

Very few players retire like Koufax (27-9 1.73 ERA), or Brown (leading the NFL in rushing and TDs), or Sanders (1500 yards rushing), or Ted Williams, at age 40, batting .316 and hitting 29 HRs in 310 ABs, or John Elway winning a Super Bowl. And, in some cases,we see players like Mays barely batting .200 and stumbling around in the outfield, or Steve Carlton throwing BP to hitters in his last couple of seasons, etc., just barely hanging on, and WAY too long.

So, I would rather see a player play 1-2 seasons longer than they probably should have...then have them retire and leaving us all wondering just how much longer they could have been dominant.

[Bosnian Sajo]

How can anyone be suggesting Shaq? Dude is a huge fat man that can't stay healthy. He was great but his time is past.

Your an idiot.

[bizil]

This.

People forget that he was getting into his groove finally getting back out there on the court. He definetly could've played the 1996-1997 season and maybe even 2-3 more years after that. People forget he didnt retire due to any injury and was still in his prime, he was physically 100% outside of the HIV diagnosis.

Exactly! Magic when he retired the first time was only 32 years old. He just led the Lakers to the Finals. He was still a top 2 or 3 player in the L. Barkley was getting real sick around this time and was right there. So Magic had so much more in the tank.

When he came back at 36 or 37 he was still mad nice. He put on some weight and was probably better off in a PF\SF type of role. And we were SO CLOSE to seeing Magic play with Shaq and Kobe. Magic never relied on athletic ability and his body never broke down. So he could have played till 40 and be very, very effective. It's one of the advantage when you were a 6'9 225 PG. As time goes on, you can move up front more often or ever permanently. What's scary is that Magic at 36 was better than Odom in his similar role! Not a knock on Lamar, but it goes to show how great Magic was.

[bizil]

i always felt like drexler went a year too early, in 98 he was still a really great and dynamic scorer and put up like 20/5/5, the following year they got pippen and it would have been so great to have seen 4 of the alltime 50 on the same team, all starting and no one need play out of position. might have been a big difference maker

Was just about to say Drexler. Clyde was a player who never really took a hard fall off at all. Even athletically, it seemed Clyde hadn't lost much if anything at all. He looked great his last year and could have player another 2-3 years at that level or close. People love to bring up age, but some greats have awesome longevity. Karl Malone played till 40 and was still a top 10 PF in the L. Clyde was still a top 5 SG when he retired at 35.

[jlauber]

Darrell Green. Just turned 50 and then went out and ran a 4.43 40.

[senelcoolidge]

Bob Petit retired after 11 season, only 32 years old and he left still very productive. 12.4 rpg and 22.5 ppg his last season.

[Hondo]

Definitely Jamal Mashburn.

He was only 31 and went out with a 20 PPG season. And the year before that had a 21/6/5 season.

No knee cartilage left in either knee. He said he was having problems walking around Disneyland with his kids.

[MrRogers]

I honestly think Bruce Bowen could've played 2-3 more seasons.


I disagree. Kobe Bryant lit him up in the '08 West Finals, he was God awful the start of the 08-09 season, and was benched the rest of that season.