Veteran big Gortat reportedly announces retirement

Veteran big man Marcin Gortat is retiring from the NBA, the 35-year-old reportedly announced in an interview with a Polish TV station that aired Sunday. "It's time to end my career," Gortat reportedly told TVP Info in his native Poland. "I think this is the moment when the year has passed -- as I said at the beginning, I give myself a year to see what life will bring me -- and it brought me to this decision, that I am going to retire, I'm finishing my professional playing."

The 6-foot-11 Gortat spent a dozen seasons in the NBA, playing for four clubs and three times tying for the league lead in games played. Drafted by Phoenix in the second round in 2005, Gortat was sent to Orlando as part of a draft-night trade. After three-plus seasons in Orlando, he was traded back to Phoenix during the 2010-11 season. The Suns sent him to Washington before the start of the 2013-14 season, and that is where Gortat enjoyed his greatest success.

In five seasons in Washington, Gortat averaged 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in 402 games, making 400 starts. The Wizards traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers in the summer of 2018, and he was waived by L.A. after 47 games last season. He has not played in the NBA since.

In 12 career seasons (three-plus in Orlando, two-plus in Phoenix, five in Washington and one in Los Angeles), Gortat averaged 9.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 806 games (587 starts). --Field Level Media

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