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Al Harrington retires after 16-year NBA career

REUTERS/Marc Serota JLS Reuters

Former first-round pick Al Harrington announced his retirement Wednesday after a 16-year career in the NBA. 

Harrington told reporters of his decision while helping out at a Denver Nuggets practice, one of seven teams he played with since the Indiana Pacers selected him as the No. 25 overall pick in 1998.

"I'm officially retired," Harrington said, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. "I don't know if there's paperwork that I gotta fill out or anything. But my career is over." 

Harrington, who was reportedly working on a comeback over the last few months, didn't play in the NBA this season. Instead, he was a member of the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association before returning home to the United States to be closer to his family. 

The stretch-four played seven seasons with the Pacers and was a key piece of the 2003-04 team that won a franchise-best 61 games. Indiana was eventually knocked out in the Eastern Conference Finals that season by the Detroit Pistons, who went on to win the NBA title. 

Harrington averaged 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and shot 35.2 percent from long range in 981 career games. He averaged a career-best 20.1 points per game during the 2008-09 season, split between the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks

"I'm very happy with what I was able to accomplish," Harrington said. "I was able to change a lot of people's lives in my family, including myself in a game that I eventually fell in love with and will always be in love with. And hopefully I can stay around the game until I die. 

"It was a fun ride. It went by fast, too. It was like one minute I was 18, the next I was 25 then was 30 and now I'm 35. It was a fun run. Met a lot of great people."

Harrington will help out with the Nuggets through the remainder of the season, Dempsey noted. 

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