Andrew Bogut Considered Retiring Due to Knee Problems
By Josh Hill
The Golden State Warriors are in the semifinals of the Western Conference playoffs and are currently locked in a battle with the San Antonio Spurs. One of the major reasons they’re in that spot has a lot to do with the play of Andrew Bogut. But while Bogut is the talk of the town now, he’s suffered through painful setbacks in his career — so painful that he told NBA.com reporter Scott Howard Cooper that he considered the notion that he might have to retire.
“I didn’t get to that point,” Bogut told NBA.com after practice to prepare for Friday’s Game 3 against the Spurs, “But it was definitely [something] I started to think about. I never got to a point where I thought, ‘This is it. I’m done.’ But I thought, ‘If this goes on for a year or two, there’s definitely a chance that I think about that.’”
Bogut stopped short of saying he was seriously contemplating retirement, but there’s no doubt that his knee problems were a major issue for him. His knees are a prime reason why he never panned out the way many hoped he would have with the Milwaukee Bucks and they played a key role in his slow start with Golden State.
The Warriors big man said that the hardest part about his poor knees was the self-doubt he endured and the questions that raced through his mind every time a problem flared up.
“I was really bad. The physical part of it is one thing, but the mental part of it’s the other. It was a tough time in my career. You always just start questioning yourself, and whenever you do that as an athlete, I think it’s probably not a great thing,” Bogut said. “When is this going to subside? When am I going to feel better? Am I going to be back to the same level I was playing at before the injury? How long is it going to take? Why is it taking so long? . … Too many questions in your mind. I was frustrated.”
Thankfully for both Bogut and Warriors fans, the knees seem to be working fine and those questions the big man had seemed to be answered. Time will tell how well Bogut holds up, but for now he’s doing all he can for Golden State and it’s a lot more than most people would expect out of a guy who’s been through what he has with his various injuries over the years.