Carlos Boozer, who last played in the NBA in 2015, has officially announced his retirement after 13 seasons.
After spending more than a decade with four different teams, 36-year-old Carlos Boozer has called it quits, telling ESPN that he’s “officially retired.” After spending the 2014-15 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Booz headed to China and joined the Guangdong Southern Tigers for the 2016-17 season. He averaged 18.1 points and 10.6 rebounds in 27.7 minutes a night.
Boozer entered the league back in 2002 after the Cleveland Cavaliers picked him 35th overall. He spent two seasons with the franchise and landed on the All-Rookie second team. Following that short stay, he joined the Utah Jazz on a six-year deal worth about $68 million. Boozer went on to have the best seasons of his career. He peaked from 2006-2008 when he made both of his All-Star teams; only four guys averaged at least 20 points and 10 rebounds during that stretch. And Boozer was one of them (21.0 points, 11.0 boards).
The Jazz, however, never broke through and made just one Conference Final. San Antonio beat them in five games.
Following those six seasons, Boozer joined the Chicago Bulls. He was still productive, but there were rather high expectations for the team. Boozer reached the East Finals in 2011, but Chicago lacked the firepower to compete with the Miami Heat. When it was all said and done, Boozer’s most memorable moment in Chicago was the mishap where it looked like he spraypainted his hair back on.
Before hanging up his NBA sneakers, Carlos Boozer enjoyed a solid season with the Lakers. In 23.8 minutes a night, he recorded 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds.
If we could pick one thing that defined Boozer and his career, it would be him shouting. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Boozer would say something like “and one!” so that everyone knew there was a foul even though there probably wasn’t one.
Start a conversation with me on Twitter