Former NBA big man Luis Scola, who spent the 2019/20 season playing for Olimpia Milano, announced on Thursday that he won’t be returning to the Italian club – or any other EuroLeague team – for the ’20/21 campaign. Scola added in a statement that he’ll decide within the next few weeks whether or not to continue his playing career.
“I have chosen not to play in the EuroLeague anymore, neither in Milan nor with another team,” Scola said. “I want to thank Olimpia for giving me this opportunity, it was a fun year in which I experienced a good environment where I felt right at home.
“On the other hand, I have not decided whether to retire from basketball for good or keep playing in another competition. I’ll make a final decision during the next few weeks.”
Scola, who appeared in 743 regular season NBA games during 10 years in the league, hasn’t suited up for an NBA team since the 2016/17 season, when he played for Brooklyn. However, he showed this season in Italy that he still has something left in the tank.
The 40-year-old averaged 11.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG with a .571/.560/.642 shooting line in 15 Italian League games (18.9 MPG), contributing 9.2 PPG and 4.4 RPG on .454/.353/.655 shooting in 28 EuroLeague contests (19.2 MPG).
Even if Scola decides not to play in a professional league in 2020/21, he presumably has one more competition circled on his calendar before he officially hangs up his sneakers. As a result of their second-place finish at last year’s World Cup, Argentina has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, which have been postponed until July 2021. Scola – who won gold and bronze medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics – likely plans on representing his country one last time on that international stage.