SAN ANTONIO – Former San Antonio Spurs center Tiago Splitter announced on Monday that he is retiring from the NBA.
The 33-year-old seven year veteran from Brazil has been battling a chronic hip injury the last two years.
Recommended Videos
Splitter was a member of the 2014 San Antonio Spurs championship team and averaged 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds for San Antonio.
RELATED: ESPN paves path for how LeBron James could join Spurs
Originally drafted by the Spurs back in 2007, Splitter joined the team during the summer of 2010. After playing five seasons, Splitter was traded to the Atlanta Hawks to clear space for free agent forward LaMarcus Aldridge in 2015.
Atlanta later sent him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for forward Ersan Ilyasova. During his time in Atlanta and Philadelphia however he was limited to just 44 games, and ended up playing his last game in April of 2017.
Splitter was the first Brazilian to win an NBA title. Since he has been out of the league he has covered the NBA All-Star game for Brazil. In an ESPN report Splitter said he would welcome the opportunity to get a position within the Spurs organization.
"[San Antonio] Is a place where I feel at home, where I know everyone. Every time I go there for a visit, they open the doors for me. It does not mean that I will have always a guaranteed position over there. But I think and I'm thrilled about the possibility of working with the Spurs in the future," Splitter said to ESPN.
There's nothing better in the world than being a basketball player! The time has come, perhaps the most difficult in an athlete's career, time to say goodbye to the courts.
— Tiago Splitter (@tiagosplitter) February 19, 2018
I say goodbye with a broken heart but in the certainty of duty.
Thank you all ✌🏻🙏🏻