Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2382824 PHILADELPHIA -- A troublesome right knee has forced Jamal Mashburn to retire. Jamal Mashburn Mashburn After being waived by the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, the former All-Star forward announced his retirement. Mashburn, 33, had career averages of 19.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 611 games with Dallas (1993-97), Miami (1997-2000) and the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets (2000-04). He was acquired by the 76ers in February 2005, but never played for them due to an injury that was diagnosed as a patella femoral irritation of the knee. "I've had a long career in the NBA and have enjoyed my experience," Mashburn said. "I look forward to my retirement life. It doesn't mean I am not going to stay busy, but it's time to move on and accomplish some of the goals that I have set for myself. It's bean a great time. I've learned a lot, but now it's time to move on." A first-round pick in 1993, Mashburn spent his first 3½ years with Dallas before being traded to Miami in February 1997. Prior to the 2000-01 season, Mashburn was acquired by the Hornets from Miami in a nine-player trade. When he played in all 82 games for the Hornets in 2002-03, Mashburn made the All-Star team and averaged 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists. Mashburn began the 2003-04 season on the injured list due to his troublesome knee and missed the first 44 games. He returned to play in 19 and averaged 20.8 points and 6.2 rebounds, but experienced swelling in the knee and missed the rest of the season and the playoffs. Mashburn would never play again, spending the entire 2004-05 season on the injured list and the 2005-06 campaign on the inactive list. ----------------------------------- A shame that he couldn't make a comeback, he seemed like a really good guy. He does seem happy with what he accomplished in the league and sounds like he does have some plans now. I always like Monster Mash as a player (even if he did play for Dallas at one stage) and wish I could have got to see more of him play.
I still have a bitter taste in my mouth towards him for passing off that last second shot in the decisive game 5 of the 1999 playoffs. He was too afraid to shoot himself so he passed it off to none other than our beloved Clarence Weatherspoon (he bricked of course). Thanks for nothing Jamal!!!
jamal played similar to pierce, just not as smart i think. but could light up the scoreboard. he had the potential to go down as one of the best scorers ever. damn those injuries.
He didn't actually retire, three years ago. He basically couldn't play anymore from about three years ago. He was just still collecting his paycheck for the last three years to ride the pine in street clothes. You could do this with any number of players (Penny for example), but imagine what his career would have been like if he didn't suffer all these injuries....
To split hairs, he didn't really suffer injuries, his body broke down. He had a degenerative knee condition and ended up with bone-to-bone movement in his joint. Some guys just can't withstand the grind of 81 game seasons. and while Mash was a good #2/#3 option, he was worthless in the clutch and postseason. Evan
