Nicolas Batum had not been under contract with the Los Angeles Clippers since the end of the NBA season. There were rumours about one last contract, but nothing concrete. As the new season approached, the fear that he might retire kept growing.
Now it’s official: Nicolas Batum announced his retirement this Monday evening.
Legend of French basketball
When he was selected 25th overall in the 2008 draft by the Houston Rockets, before being immediately traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, few imagined he would last 18 years in the NBA. Yet, he managed to carve out a role as a do-it-all player, a 3&D specialist, a reliable team player who consistently earned praise from coaches and teammates for his work behind the scenes.
1,131 regular-season games with an even 10 points per game average. The numbers, of course, don’t fully reflect his impact. He did have a career-high 35-point game, but perhaps the stat that best sums up Batum’s career is that he is one of only 15 players in NBA history to record a 'five-by-five': at least five in each of the five main statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks), achieved on December 16th, 2012 against the Hornets (11-5-10-5-5).
After a long career with the Blazers (2008-15), then the Charlotte Hornets (2015-20), the Clippers (2020-23), before landing with the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the James Harden trade (2023-24), Batum returned to the Clippers for his final two seasons.
But Batum is, of course, also about the France national team, which he was part of for 15 years. He was a member of the squad that won the country’s first-ever European championship in 2013. He is also a two-time Olympic silver medalist from the last two editions. And who could forget his incredible block against Slovenia that sent France to the final in Tokyo?
Three years later, he was the captain of the French team that once again fell to the Americans in the Paris Olympics final. After that last campaign, he announced his international retirement. Now, it’s retirement for good.