36 year-old Shawn Marion’s playing days aren’t quite over, but they will be soon. The Cleveland Cavaliers forward and former Phoenix Suns star announced that he will retire after this season.
The Matrix pointed to the recent birth of his first child as justification for hanging up his Nikes after a storied 15-year career. Here’s a thoughtful and wistful Marion via Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic:
Marion said he plans to retire after this season with Cleveland, ending a 15-year NBA career that was mostly spent as a star with the Suns…
“I wanted to go out on my terms,” Marion said. “The biggest thing is having a son. I got attached to him. Seeing him periodically is hard. Watching him grow up on pictures and videos is hard…”
“I was able to grow as a player and watch the city grow at the same time,” Marion said of his time in the Valley. “I really wish I could’ve won a title in Phoenix. When you spend that much time with an organization and do what I did there, you feel like it’s part of you. The fans there know I came to play and laid it on the line.
“It was a special time. Those were special fans in Phoenix. It’ll always have a part of me. I’m always going to keep a place there.”
Marion was a four-time All-Star with the Suns in the mid-2000s, excelling on both ends in the team’s famed “Seven Seconds Or Less” attack. He won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks as a role player in 2011, and is widely credited with limiting LeBron James to the worst postseason series of The King’s career.
Marion’s Hall-of-Fame candidacy will serve as a fascinating test case for the selection process. Though never considered the best player on his own team, his credentials should make him a lock. In addition to being a two-time All NBA Third-Team honoree and winning a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics, Marion is one of five players in league history to garner at least 1,500 steals and 1,000 blocks – the others are Kevin Garnett, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, and Karl Malone.
Of course, it’s too early to put a cap on those numbers – Marion is a key cog for the defensively-challenged Cavaliers in the twilight of his career. His 104.8 defensive rating is the team’s second-best among regulars, and his versatility on that end looms especially large when David Blatt puts James at nominal power forward.
Here’s hoping Marion performs well over his final playing months. He’s obviously going out on his own terms, and deserves to do so playing somewhat like The Matrix we know, too.
What do you think?
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