Basketball is a young man's game and every aging NBA player would eventually retire at one point. However, some NBA players have surprised fans by retiring from the game, only to make a comeback a short time later.
Most of these "unretiring" stars felt the itch to continue playing on basketball's biggest stage, while others gave themselves one last shot at an elusive NBA championship. Let's get to know some of these notable NBA stars who retired only to give it another go after a while.
Arvydas Sabonis
Former Portland Trail Blazers big man Arvydas came to the NBA a little too late and also left a little too early. After six seasons with the Blazers, Sabas suddenly opted to retire , reportedly telling his agent " that he likely would not return to the NBA because he wanted to spend more time with his family ."
Sabonis' decision came following Portland's disappointing playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001. At the time, the Lithuanian legend was set to make $7 million for the upcoming season. However, Arvydas didn't care about the money.
After a year with his family back in his homeland, Sabonis returned to the Blazers lineup in 2002. He went on to play 84 games for the team as a second-stringer and averaged 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He then officially called it quits after that season.
Kevin Willis
Willis had one of the longest NBA careers of all time. Though he established himself as one of the strongest and most versatile big men in the '90s, Devo is mostly remembered by fans for his lengthy NBA career.
Drafted by the Atlanta Hawks as their 11th overall pick in the 1984 Draft out of Michigan State, Willis quickly became a reliable presence inside the paint, earning a permanent starting role in his third season with the team.
After a great run with the Hawks, Willis was dealt to the Miami Heat and spent the next ten years with six other different teams. In 2004, Kevin returned to Atlanta at age 42 and retired after the season.
While everybody thought Willis had a fitting farewell season with the Hawks, the veteran big man decided to make an NBA comeback two years after his retirement and joined the Dallas Mavericks at age 44. At the time, Devo became the oldest active player in the league. However, Willis' final NBA return only lasted five games.
Brandon Roy
Injuries sometimes prompt NBA stars to retire against their will, and that was the case with the former Blazers superstar. Heading into the playoffs, B-Roy injured his knee and was never the same player after.
He managed to recover and play the following season. However, he had already lost some of the explosiveness he once had. In 2011, Roy decided to retire after suffering from a rare bone condition in his knee.
In the 2012-13 season, Roy made an emphatic NBA comeback after being signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team that drafted him back in 2006. He only played for five games in his return and called it a career once and for all.
Despite stepping away from the game for good, Roy admittedly found it hard to forget basketball . He continued playing competitive basketball with some NBA veterans and eventually embarked on a coaching job.
"The first thing you have to do is understand that it's normal to feel the way you do," the three-time NBA All-Star once reflected. "That helped me so much. Even the greatest player ever came back from retirement—twice! Because this isn't easy to walk away from."
Rasheed Wallace
Many remember Wallace for his remarkable runs with the Blazers and the Detroit Pistons. However, some might not know that Sheed also came out of retirement to play for the New York Knicks.
The Boston Celtics signed Wallace ahead of the 2009-10 season to bolster their squad with more championship experience in an attempt to repeat their NBA title run in 2008. After Celtics lost to the Lakers in the Finals, Sheed figured it was time to hang his sneakers and retired from the game.
Two years into retirement, the four-time All-Star power forward returned and joined the Knicks. In New York, Sheed didn't accomplish a lot as a player, but he unsurprisingly became a crowd-favorite in his 21-game stint with the team. Wallace then officially retired after that run.
Penny Hardaway
Hardaway's career was never the same after being plagued by a series of injuries during his prime. Since leaving the Orlando Magic for the Phoenix Suns in 1999, Penny had failed to regain his old form and gradually faded to obscurity.
That said, Hardaway was forced to retire in 2006 after an underwhelming final run with the Knicks. However, the All-Star point guard's retirement only lasted one year as he wound up earning a spot on Pat Riley's roster in Miami in the summer of 2007.
Hardaway only played 16 games with the Heat and decided that it was time to call it quits once again. However, Penny somehow felt a burning desire to make another NBA return in 2010 at nearly 40 years old . He eyed rejoining the Heat as they aimed to win a championship with their then-freshly assembled Big 3 in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
"I'm just throwing my name in the hat," Penny once said in 2010. "I'm just one to put my name out there and say, hey, I would love to be one of the guys to be on that team. I just really hope that they give me a great opportunity to come back down and show that I can do the things that I did a couple years ago."
Bob Cousy
The great Bob Cousy etched his name in Celtics history by helping the team win multiple titles from 1957 to 1963. After capturing his sixth NBA championship in '63, The Houdini of the Hardwood hung his sneakers at age 34.
In 1969, Cooz landed a head coaching job with the Cincinnati Royals. That same year, Cousy shocked the NBA world by making a late-season comeback as a Royals player.
Unsurprisingly, Cousy, who was already 41 years old at the time, didn't have an impressive run as a player in his return. Nevertheless, Cooz's decision to lace up and compete in his 40s was still viewed by many as a noble move and a historic moment in the NBA.
George Mikan
Despite earning the moniker Mr. Basketball, George Mikan 's NBA career did not last long. He only played six consecutive seasons during his prime and was prompted to retire even before he turned 30 due to family reasons.
Though Mikan's career was short, it was nothing short of legendary yet strenuous at the same time. George left the game as a four-time All-Star, three-time scoring champion, five-time BAA/NBA champion and six-time All-BAA/NBA selectee.
A year into his post-NBA life, Mikan ended his retirement and reunited with the Minneapolis Lakers in 1955. While George's NBA comeback generated buzz in the basketball world, the same thing couldn't be said about his performances. Understandably, inactivity took a toll on his body as Mikan was evidently not the same dominant big man he was once in his return.
Magic Johnson
Upon learning that he was HIV-positive in 1991, Magic Johnson was forced to step away from the game. Instead of succumbing to dejection, the Lakers icon remained positive and managed to stay healthy despite suffering from the killer disease.
It only took Johnson four years to regain his confidence in playing. In 1995, Magic made an emphatic NBA return at age 36.
However, Earvin quickly realized that he wasn't gonna be playing for a long period of time. After a terrible loss to the Chicago Bulls, Johnson's friend and fellow NBA legend Michael Jordan himself gave him a rude awakening and advised him to just call it a career for good.
"I don't think I've ever told anybody this. He met me in between the locker rooms, and he said, 'Earvin, you have to remember now, you're not with Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar); you're not with James Worthy. All the guys you used to play with, Showtime, are not on that Laker team anymore. So remember, maybe you should think about retiring,'" the Hall of Famer once remembered.
Michael Jordan
Like Magic, Jordan also came out of retirement after several years. Though His Airness didn't have any serious ailments, he was eager to prove that he could still play at the highest level despite being nearly 40 years old.
Unfortunately for MJ, who played for the Washington Wizards in his final return, his dramatic comeback only made him and the fans realize that Father Time already got the better of him. Nevertheless, Jordan still displayed exceptional work ethic and mental toughness throughout his two-year stint with the Wizards.
"M.J. being 40 years old, we called him Black Jesus. You know M.J. being 40 years old, and he'd be the first guy in the gym. Practice at 11; you walk in the gym, you think you're early at 9 o'clock, he's already got a full lather. He's done and lifted, court workout and everything. Then we're coming to practice; he's on one leg. He was hurt in the second year; he was on one leg the whole year and played 82 games. He practiced every day, and he played every game on one leg," former Wizards guard Ty Lue once said .
While the reasons for their comebacks vary, these NBA stars proved that leaving behind a beloved career is easier said than done, and returning for another run never hurt anybody.
Related: Julius Erving believes no player is similar to him in the modern NBA: “I was a small forward, but I really played like a power forward”
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