Amar’e Stoudemire has decided to call it a career, announcing his retirement today after signing a ceremonial contract with the Knicks, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
“I want to thank Mr. Dolan, Phil [Jackson] and Steve [Mills] for signing me so that I can officially retire as a New York Knick,” Stoudemire said in a statement. “I came to New York in 2010 to help revitalize this franchise and we did just that. Carmelo [Anthony], Phil and Steve have continued this quest, and with this year’s acquisitions, the team looks playoff-bound once again. Although my career has taken me to other places around the country, my heart has always remained in the Big Apple. Once a Knick, Always a Knick.”
The 33-year-old was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, entering the league fresh out of high school. He appeared in 846 regular season games in his career, averaging 18.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per contest and shooting .537/.236/.761 from the field. Stoudemire likely expected to play more than he did with Miami in 2015/16, appearing in just 52 games and logging 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per outing on the campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Surprised he chose to retire as a Knick over a Sun.
Man, I gained a lot more respect for Amare in the last year than I already had before. I’m glad that he played here in Miami for a year. He is a really good, and pretty cool person, all around. Very cultural. He definitely has good values, and understands what is really important in life. It was cool sort of getting to know him like that. He also was fun to watch on the court. Amare showed me that he could still get better, at his age, and with his injury history. He showed clear, exponential improvement on the defensive end, and was one of the Heat’s best defenders throughout the 2nd half of the season. I would have never thought I would say that when he was a free agent, heading into that summer of 2010. Regardless of what anyone says, Amare is a hard worker, and he endeared himself to South Florida b/c of that, and everything else. I thought he could still play another 2 years, if his body could hold up. I would have liked to have seen him get an opportunity to win a championship with someone this year, but he really had a great career. It could have been different, had the injuries not taken their toll on him, but Amare can hang that jersey up with his head help high. Congrats to him
I remember Amare bringing hopes to the Knicks. That first half of the 2010 season was probably some of the best knicks basketball in 2 decades. Only if Dolan waited like Walsh and D’anoti insisted for Carmelo to come to NY that next summer as UFA, knicks wouldve been a force to reckon with for years to come. Thanks Amare for bringing the first glimmer of hope back to NY in a long time.
Surprised he didn’t go with the Suns.
Imagine if he didn’t have all these injuries
If he wasn’t injured the first time, the Suns would have paid him the max contract like he wanted and he would’ve stayed in Phoenix and he’d probably still be playing.
I think of him as a member of the Suns myself. That’s where his years were. It’s too bad injuries derailed his career. He was amazing for a few years with Nash.
*Best years
Didn’t Amar’e retire while he was still a Knick before? Now he gets to do it again? Too funny! Maybe the idiot Dolan wants to hang his number in the rafters with the other great Knicks? This is a joke right?