Jermaine O’Neal to contemplate retirement in offseason
After completing his 18th season in the NBA, Golden State Warriors reserve center Jermaine O’Neal will use the upcoming offseason to decide whether he’ll return or retire from the league:
GS C Jermaine O'Neal is expected to take his time deciding whether to keep playing or retire. Still loves game but yearns to be with family.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) May 5, 2014
Jermaine O'Neal, 35, showed he can still be effective with averages of 7.9 pts & 5.5 rbs with good spot starts.JO loved playing for Warriors
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) May 5, 2014
Despite being on his last leg as a NBA player, O’Neal proved to be useful to the Golden State Warriors, often seeming to have found the fountain of youth. In the wake of Andrew Bogut’s injury, O’Neal remained the only reliable center on the roster and he did all he could against the frontcourt of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Outside of old age, O’Neal’s future in the league was up in the air following a bad collision between he and Clippers forward Glen Davis, jeopardizing O’Neal’s chance to play in Game 7 of the first round matchup between Los Angeles and Golden State.
“Anything short of God coming back [or] the rapture, I’ll play.”
O’Neal would go on to play only two minutes in what could be his final game of his NBA career.
Since being drafted 17th overall in the 1996 by the Portland Trail Blazers, Jermaine O’Neal has averaged 13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks for his career. He was award Most Improved Player for the 2001-02 season, made six straight All-Star appearances from 2002 to 2007, and was named to All-NBA teams three times in his career.