LOS ANGELES — Former Clippers forward Nicolas Batum is retiring following an 18-year NBA career and a long stint with the French national team.
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The 37-year-old Batum announced his retirement in a social media video with his son on Monday.
“I decided to retire from basketball for several reasons,” Batum told 10-year-old son, Ayden, in the video. “I want to come home and be with you. I’m going to take care of you and make room for others. I think I’ve done my time. My time with France ended two years ago. And the NBA is over too. You know, when you’ve played as much basketball as I have, at some point, you have to know when to stop. … I’ve done everything I needed to do.”
Batum played two seasons in the French league before being selected in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers as a teenager. The 6-foot-7 forward spent seven seasons in Portland before playing the next five with Charlotte.
Batum spent most of his final six seasons with the Clippers, with a short stint in Philadelphia in 2023-24. He also was a stalwart on French national teams that won silver medals in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
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Batum said in the video that France’s semifinal victory over Germany at the 2024 Olympics in Paris was “the best basketball moment I’ve ever experienced.”
Batum averaged 9.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 37% from 3-point range during his NBA career. He appeared in 76 playoff games and reached the 2021 Western Conference finals with the Clippers.
He averaged 4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 74 appearances last season.
Earlier this summer, the Clippers declined their option on Batum’s $5.9 million contract for the 2026-27 season, leaving him as an unrestricted free agent.
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