Jared Cohen
After 19 NBA seasons, Grant Hill announced his retirtement from the NBA.
“I’m glad to say I’m done,” Hill said on the TNT broadcast Saturday night before the start of game six between the Heat and Pacers. “I’m officially retired, moving on from playing. I had a great run. I’m announcing it now.”
“I’ve been hinting at it the last few years,” Hill added. “You get to a point where you just don’t want to do it anymore but I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve loved it.”
Of the 19 seasons, Hill spent five with the Phoenix Suns after signing with the team back on July 11, 2007. He became a fan favorite on the team and played a huge role on the Suns push to the Western Conference Finals back in 2010. As a Sun, he averaged 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 362 games (343 starts).
“On behalf of the entire Phoenix Suns organization, we would like to congratulate Grant Hill on a Hall of Fame career,” said Managing Partner Robert Sarver. “We all know that he was a tremendous pro, but his greatest contributions are in the example he’s set for others with his work ethic and professionalism, both on and off the court.
“He is truly a class act, and I’ve valued his friendship and respected his advice since we met,” Sarver added. “Grant is, and always will be, a member of the Suns family.”
Hill was a prime example of the wonders that the Suns training staff have done for players’ health. He joined the team after spending four ankle injury-plagued seasons with the Orlando Magic which saw him only play 47 games total in that time. However, after joining the Suns, he played at least 80 games in three of his five seasons in Phoenix.
Hill might be most remembered for what could have been because of all of those injuries. But I will most remember him for the unthinkable pass to Christian Laettner while at Duke, for being an almost 40 year old lock-down defender making many of the young stars in the NBA look bad while with the Suns, for being one of the most professional and nicest people I have been around as a part of the media in Phoenix and of course for drinking Sprite.
