Grant Hill announced his retirement on Saturday during TNT s pregame show before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Hill s announcement comes after two NCAA championships at Duke 19 seasons in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons Orlando Magic Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers seven All Star selections five All NBA selections and an Olympic gold medal. Injuries prevented Hill from reaching his full potential but short of winning an NBA championship he accomplished just about everything a basketball player can.
The last four or five years I would take about a month (after the season to decide to continue) and within a month if I still wanted to do it I would Hill told USA TODAY Sports Jeff Zillgitt on Saturday. Putting it simply after a month I just realized I didn t want to play anymore.
Of course awards and stats alone don t sum up Hill s greatness. Before a series of ankle injuries chipped away at his athleticism he was one of the most exciting players to watch on a nightly basis.
He was an outstanding in game dunker and had a killer handle. Just watch him shake Scottie Pippen one of the greatest defenders in NBA history to get to the hoop
His high flying game singlehandedly redeemed the Pistons hilariously awful teal uniforms. He had a devastatingly quick first step that allowed him to get by almost anyone.
But Hill was more than just a highlight machine. He was a versatile unselfish player who could shoot pass rebound and defend.
And he has some classic Sprite commercials too.
Hill left the Pistons in 2000 to sign with the Orlando Magic where he and Tracy McGrady hoped to form a superteam. Unfortunately Hill s ankle caused him to miss more games than he played in seven seasons with the Magic including missing the entire 2003 04 season. Still he showed flashes of his former greatness when he did play.
Hill joined the Phoenix Suns in 2007 and had something of a career renaissance. Thanks in part to Phoenix s highly regarded training staff Hill was able to overcome his injury problems and appear in at least 80 games in three of his five seasons there. Hill started and played a key role on the 2009 10 Suns team that led by Steve Nash and Amar e Stoudemire made it to the Western Conference Finals. Of course the injuries had robbed him of his explosiveness by that point but he was still a solid defender and shooter who could get up when he needed to
If he had stayed healthy Hill would have been in the conversation with Tim Duncan Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett as one of the absolute greatest players of his generation. But even with his injuries he leaves behind a legacy as one of the best college players ever an extremely exciting and versatile NBA player a total class act on and off the court and lock to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in five years.
That s a pretty good career.
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