Shawn Marion confirms his intention to retire after 16 seasons
One of the most dynamic talents of the modern era has confirmed his intention to call it a career, with Shawn Marion telling ESPN's Marc Stein that he will follow through with retirement.
"Hell yeah," Marion told Stein via text on Thursday.
Marion first announced his intention to retire at the conclusion of the season back in January, telling The Arizona Republic's Paul Coro that wanting to spend more time with his son was the main factor in his decision.
"The biggest thing is having a son," Marion said at the time. "I got attached to him. Seeing him periodically is hard. Watching him grow up on pictures and videos is hard."
The 37-year-old logged a career-low 1,101 minutes during the regular season in his lone year with the Cleveland Cavaliers, his sparing postseason minutes doing little to quell his desire to walk away from the game.
Marion is nowhere near the impact player he once was. However, after Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving each suffered season-ending injuries as the Cavs navigated all the way to Game 6 of the NBA Finals, with Cleveland relying on an undermanned rotation, Marion was reportedly unhappy with David Blatt's refusal to go deeper into his bench.
Marion, the ninth overall pick in the 1999 draft, spent 16 seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and Cavaliers, averaging 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks.
He made four All-Star appearances with the Suns, was selected to two All-NBA Third Teams in 2005 and 2006, and won a championship with the Mavericks in 2011.
How Marion was never selected to an All-Defensive team will be a question for the ages, as the versatile forward was one of the league's elite defensive game-changers for a significant portion of his career.
His best and most memorable years undoubtedly came as a member of the run-and-gun Suns of the mid-2000s, partnering with Steve Nash, Amar'e Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, and Leandro Barbosa, among others, under Mike D'Antoni's tutelage.
Over a five-year run from the 2002-03 season through the 2006-07 season (which included all four of his All-Star appearances), Marion averaged 19.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.4 blocks on a Player Efficiency Rating of 21.5. He missed only eight games over those five seasons.
Marion's versatility at both forward positions - and occasionally other positions on the floor - was integral to those perennially contending Phoenix teams. Prime evidence is the fact that the 62-win Suns of 2004-05 performed an incredible 13.4 points per 100 possessions better with Marion on the court as opposed to on the bench, according to Basketball Reference.
Marion's name doesn't exactly spark Hall of Fame debate, and it's tough to see him getting in - but he was one of the NBA's most complete and unique players for a significant period of time, and his durability and consistency made him a staple of his generation.