Nicolas Batum Announces Retirement From Basketball at 37 After 18 NBA Seasons
Key Takeaways
- •Nicolas Batum announced his retirement from basketball on Monday at age 37 after 18 NBA seasons and 1,205 games with four franchises.
- •Batum finished his career with averages of 9.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3 assists, and his 1,842 made 3-pointers rank tied for 29th in NBA history, level with Donovan Mitchell.
- •Drafted 25th overall by the Houston Rockets in 2008, Batum played for Portland, Charlotte, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Philadelphia, signing a five-year deal with the Hornets in 2016 that was reported to be worth about $120 million.
- •Batum was a key rotation player on the Clippers team that reached the franchise's first Western Conference Finals in 2021, and he was traded to Philadelphia in October 2023 as part of the deal that sent James Harden to Los Angeles.
- •Across 15 years with the French national team, Batum earned five major international medals: Olympic silvers at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, World Cup bronzes in 2014 and 2019, and the 2013 EuroBasket title, France's first.
Nicolas Batum, the French forward who spent 18 seasons in the NBA, announced his retirement from basketball on Monday, closing out a career that spanned 1,205 games across four franchises.
The 37-year-old explained his decision in a video shared on social media.
“After 21 years, it’s time for me to go home,” Batum said. “It’s been 25 years since I left, 20 years as a pro. That’s a lot. Eighteen years in the NBA, 15 with the French national team.”
Batum finished with career averages of 9.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3 assists, having played for the Portland Trail Blazers (2008-15), the Charlotte Hornets (2015-20), the Los Angeles Clippers (2020-23, 2024-26) and the Philadelphia 76ers (2023-24). He ranks tied for 29th in NBA history in career 3-point field goals with 1,842, level with Donovan Mitchell — a tally that places him among the 30 most prolific 3-point shooters in league history. The stat line reflects a career defined less by volume scoring than by the durable, two-way versatility that kept him in NBA rotations for nearly two decades.
A native of Lisieux, France, Batum began his professional career with Le Mans in his home country before the Houston Rockets selected him with the 25th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He was dealt to the Trail Blazers in a draft-night trade and went on to build a reputation in Portland as one of the league’s most versatile two-way forwards.
In 2016, he signed a five-year contract with Charlotte reported to be worth about $120 million. He later joined the Clippers, where he served as a key rotation player on the Los Angeles team that reached the franchise’s first Western Conference Finals in 2021. Batum was traded to Philadelphia in October 2023 as part of the deal that sent James Harden to the Clippers, before returning to Los Angeles the following year.
Internationally, the 6-foot-7 wing helped France win Olympic silver medals at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games, as well as bronze medals at the FIBA World Cup in 2014 and 2019. He was also a member of the French squad that captured the EuroBasket title in 2013, France’s first, giving him five major international medals across his 15 years with the national team.
— Reuters
