As he gets ready for Game 2 of the 2013 Finals against the Spurs, Shane Battier is thinking quite a bit about his future in the NBA. The veteran forward indicated to Alex Kennedy of USA Today that he probably has one more year of basketball left.
"I think I have one more year," Battier said. "My contract is up next year, and I'll reassess where I am, but we'll see. It's a good possibility, a good possibility. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, and everything in this league is negotiable, but at that point I'll be 36 and it may be time to do something else."
Battier has averaged 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks over 904 career games with the Rockets, Grizzlies, and Heat. The former Duke star has been to the playoffs in nine of his 12 seasons in the NBA.
He’s never been that star player, but if you build a team from the ground up, Battier needs to be on it.
Unless I am mistaken, Battier never played baseball, which means he never played for the Rockies.
Shane is a true professional and most people will argue that he is the smartest player in the NBA. He does everything he is asked of and more on the court. His defense on the perimeter is awesome, he causes havoc with his hands, getting deflections. He has even defended pretty weell in the post when he has to. He has been struggling the last couple of weeks in making his shots, but I’m confident that he’ll start knocking them down. I feel old realizing that Shane Battier will be 36 after the year next year. Hopefully, he goes out after a 3 peat