Former Warriors champion announces his retirement from basketball

Less than two years after winning it all with the Golden State Warriors, one veteran player is signing off the airwaves.

Former NBA forward Nemanja Bjelica announced to Instagram over the weekend that he is retiring from basketball. He made the announcement in a series of posts (including a video retrospective), writing, “Today I’m officially retiring from basketball. Thank you all.”

Bjelica, 35, had a strong career in Europe prior to joining the NBA winning a EuroLeague MVP, All-EuroLeague First Team selection and a champion of the Turkish League. Bjelica signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015 and also played in the NBA for Sacramento, Miami and Golden State. He finished his NBA career with averages of 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game on .466/.384/.759 shooting splits and was a member of the Warriors’ championship team in 2022.

For Bjelica, who then went back to play for Fenerbahçe in Turkey during the 2022-23 season, retirement had been rumored for several months amid his recurring leg injuries. Now Bjelica is making it official, becoming the second guy on that Warriors title team to announce his retirement in recent weeks.