Andrew Bogut announces retirement after 14 NBA seasons

After 14 NBA seasons, on his Rogue Bogues podcast Monday, Andrew Bogut announced his retirement from pro basketball.

Bogut, a native of Australia, concluded his career with the NBL’s Sydney Kings during his 14 NBA seasons. Besides his professional exploits, Bogut was also a decorated international player for the Australia’s National Team. The Boomers finished fourth at the 2016 Olympic Games, which is their best result ever, and while Bogut initially hoped to play in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, he is calling it a career after their postponement to next year.

In the 2005 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks after 2 stellar seasons at the University of Utah, Bogut was the first overall pick. He played for the Bucks during the first seven years of his basketball career. He earned All-NBA Third Team honors in Milwaukee in the 2009-10 season. However, his greatest success as a professional basketball player came after a trade to the Golden State Warriors, where he won his championship and earned All-Defense honors five years ago.

However, Bogut was jettisoned by the Golden State Warriors as they needed to create the cap space for a contract with Kevin Durant, which sent him on a years-long odyssey throughout the NBA, featuring stops with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks. In addition, injuries and age limited his effectiveness, and in fact, he never quite recaptured his Golden State form. Last year, he returned to the Warriors, which then lost against the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals.  

Bogut retires as the first great NBA success of Australia. Although Ben Simmons may be going to take this throne, he could also be considered to be the greatest basketball player ever of Australia. It has sent a number of other high-level players to the league, but no player could enter the league with as much fanfare as Bogut, who continued to become a high-level starting center in the international game.