Former NBA center Alexis Ajinca has formally announced his retirement as a player, publishing a tweet today confirming the decision.
Ajinca, 33, was the 20th overall pick in the 2008 draft. The 7’2″ Frenchman began his NBA career in Charlotte before making stops in Dallas, Toronto, and New Orleans over the course of seven seasons. He last appeared in the NBA in 2017 with the Pelicans and also played professionally in France from 2006-08, 2011-13, and 2018-19.
In 293 total NBA regular season games, Ajinca averaged 5.3 PPG and 3.9 RPG with a .503 FG% in 13.3 minutes per contest. His best years came in New Orleans, where he was a rotation regular from 2013-17, appearing in 222 games and starting 70 of them. His lone playoff appearance came with the Pelicans in 2015.
In France, Ajinca won the French Cup in 2007 and was named to the LNB Pro A All-Star team in 2013. He was also a member of the France team that won gold in the 2013 FIBA EuroBasket championship.
I remember when he was the lowest rated player in one of the 2K’s lol
In real life too
Super cool fun dude from my town i played against him when he was young on playgrounds with his brother…
Nice – How was it in Etienne France back in the day ?
It’s Saint-Etienne mate … He was kinda stiff but so big you could not shot over him in the paint … He clearly loved to play outside the paint cause he had a wicked jump shot and as AD he grew up really fast … US media mocked him more than he deserved
2k roster filler was the first thing I thought of as well
Good for him