Former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut retires after 14 NBA seasons
By John Buhler
Former No. 1 pick and NBA champion Andrew Bogut has retired from the hardwood.
Andrew Bogut has officially retired from basketball after 14 NBA seasons with multiple teams.
Bogut played for five franchises over his NBA career spanning from 2005-19. Taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft out of the University of Utah, the Australian big man had transformational talent early in his career with the Milwaukee Bucks. However, a ghastly elbow injury in 2010 derailed his career, ultimately one he would redefine years later as a champion.
After 14 NBA seasons, Andrew Bogut — a 2015 NBA champion — announces he is retiring from basketball. Bogut played for the Bucks, Warriors, Mavericks, Cavaliers and Lakers and spent last two years in Sydney.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 30, 2020
Andrew Bogut is one of the biggest what-if cases in modern NBA history
Once Bogut essentially destroyed his elbow after crashing to the floor on a fast-break dunk, he would re-establish himself as an integral piece of the Golden State Warriors‘ dynasty in the mid-to-late 2010s. Despite not being able to shoot hardly at all any more, Bogut became a defensive maven, an elite passing big man and a seminal reason the Warriors won it all in 2015.
He made the All-Defensive Team in the 2014-15 campaign for Golden State, having officially rebounded from his career-altering injury. Had Bogut not gotten hurt in the 2016 NBA Finals, Golden State may have defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers to win back-to-back titles. Bogut would go on to play with three more teams, as well as the Warriors one last time before the end of the 2018-19 season.
Bogut was the primary piece that came Golden State’s way in the Monta Ellis trade. This was a deal that could have easily been for Stephen Curry, as Warriors ownership knew it had to pick between Curry and Ellis to become a more balanced team. Clearly, Golden State made the right decision, as Bogut, Curry and the rest of the 2014-15 were rewarded with championship gold.
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When we think back on Bogut’s career, we will remember him as a dominant college player at Utah and briefly one in Milwaukee. Had he not suffered the debilitating elbow injury, there is a chance he would have made a few NBA All-Star Games out of the Eastern Conference. Though an NBA champion and an Australian hoops legend, we will all think about what he could have been.
Bogut gave his all to basketball, as his love for the game triumphantly prevailed over time.