He says goodbye to the NBA having played 846 games he averaged 18.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots. What a way to go for Amar’e Stoudemire. The player has signed a contract with New York Knicks for just one day and immediately announced his retirement afterwards. It was the last act of a remarkable career that was cut short by injuries.
The 33 year old says goodbye after spending 14 years in the NBA, Stoudemire retires. And it does so as a Knickerbocker. “I want to thank Mr. Dolan, Phil (Jackson) and Steve (Mills) for signing me, so I can officially retire as a New York Knick,” said the player.
Stoudemire made it big in the NBA from the very start. Rookie of the Year in 2003 with Phoenix Suns, the team on which he played the first 8 years of his career. They were years of success with those Suns of Steve Nash and Mike D’Antoni.
He then spent 4½ years in the Knicks. And his last two teams were Dallas (23 games) and Miami (52 last season). By then, he was not the same. Already while playing for the Knicks his minutes were limited.
Injuries weighed down his game. With his -never the same injured knees made his time in the court drastically reduced. Still, he gave great numbers in that reduced time. But his performance would never be the same, he no longer was the same player. Previously, he was a star. He was an All-Star some 6 times between 2005 and 2011, he entered the All-NBA First Team in 2007 and the 2nd Team up to 4 times. He averaged 20 or more points in seven seasons. He was a great player when he was healthy.
Stoudemire is planning to take some time off. Still unclear if he will intend to continue his Basketball career abroad, some say he might be playing by next season. And there is already a growing interest in the player.
