Any professional basketball player approaching their 36th birthday has definitely contemplated the day of their retirement. However, when it comes to a player who averaged 27.1 points per game in the season, was an All-Star, was selected for the All-NBA Second Team, and carried his team through most of the regular season despite frequent injuries to his teammates, thoughts of hanging up the boots seem a bit premature.
The player in question is Kevin Durant , and the one who suggested he should retire from professional play is Rasheed Wallace , who recently explained why KD needs to start thinking about the day many players dread.
“Definitely, retirement for sure pops in his head,” Sheed said when asked about the next step in Durant’s career.
“I know he did (average 28 points per game), but he is getting older with it though. He’s now one of the league’s elder statesmen. If Phoenix don’t do sh**, if Phoenix don’t bring nothing, no other help, like they already brought sh** in there, so if they don't bring nobody else in there to
help him get over that hump…’All right, yo, I gotta go, it's time for me to hang it up,’” he added.
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How much longer can Durant hold on?
Despite suffering one of the most severe injuries a basketball player can face, a ruptured Achilles, Durantula returned to form at a level comparable to his peak days. Known as one of the best plug-and-play players and scorers of all time, KD somehow defies Father Time, just like his rival LeBron James . But before every season, the question remains: how much longer? How much longer can his body endure the rigors of an 82-game regular season and the even more grueling postseason?
But all those efforts pale in comparison to the greatest team achievement an NBA player can experience: winning the Larry O'Brien trophy. It's the pursuit of this accomplishment that often pushes players beyond their perceived age limits. However, what happens when, as Rasheed suggests, an organization doesn't do enough to support its superstar in securing that coveted ring? Wallace thinks retirement is then necessary.
The future is unclear in the Valley
As a reminder, Durant's Suns entered the previous season as one of the two teams from the Western Conference expected to be top contenders for the title. The trio of KD, Devin Booker , and Bradley Beal seemed like an offensive powerhouse on paper, one that many teams would struggle to contain. However, fast forward to the first round of the Playoffs, and Phoenix's three-headed monster was absolutely humbled and swept 4-0 by the young Minnesota Timberwolves. Following this painful exit, rumors began circulating about Durant's dissatisfaction and poor communication within the team, a classic, to say the least.
And if we revisit what Sheed said about early retirement, it now even makes some sense, a tiny bit of sense. Although highly unlikely to happen, knowing Durant and his past tendencies, if the organization fails to give him a sense of hope with new additions, it's not impossible that the talented scorer might seek his place under the sun elsewhere or if Wallace's prophecy comes true, take an extended break from basketball.
Related: Rasheed Wallace thinks Durant, LeBron, and Wade had the same intensity and skill as him: "I think it's more in the veteran players"
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