Nicolas Batum anticipates that next season will the final one of his lengthy NBA career, Eurohoops.net relays.
Batum believes he’ll hang it up after finishing out his contract with the Clippers. Batum holds a $4.9MM option on his 2025/26 contract, which he must exercise by June 29.
“There’s a very, very good chance that the next season will be my last,” Batum said in an interview with BeinSports.
Batum remains a productive rotation player, appearing in 78 games this season, including eight starts. Batum posted averages of 4.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 17.5 minutes per game but he only attempted 3.1 shots per game, mostly beyond the three-point arc. He drained 43.3% of his long-range shots.
Batum, 36, has played in the NBA since the 2008/09 season, beginning his career with Portland. He also played five seasons in Charlotte and spent the majority of the 2023/24 campaign with Philadelphia. Otherwise, he has been with the Clippers since 2o2o. He returned to the organization on a two-year deal in July.
President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said during his postseason press conference that he hopes Batum opts in for next season. “Yes, 1,000 percent, we hope that Nico comes back,” he said.
Nic Batum retirement tour
made 200+mill, never made an all star team, never had to be the guy on a team, just sat back and got paid. Congrats
I wouldn’t say he “sat back”. Guy played hard and made a place for himself in a competitive league. Disrespectful.
Not a bigger thief than Tobias Harris.
75th in all-time games played lol
“just sat back and got paid”
Don’t confuse being one of the best in the world at something with your job.
Yeah, I guess 11K career points, 5,500 rebounds and above average shooting is just “sitting back”. If he was “sitting back”, you don’t think the league would have figured it out before he played his 1,100th game
Sure, he’s not an All-Star. He is a very solid NBA player who contributes enough for teams to still want him on their roster through his late 30’s.
Clippers would have been in the Conference Finals if they were in East
I remember when he said he was going to form his own big three in Portlant with Aldridge and Roy lmao.