EuroLeague
Photo: EuroLeague

Exactly a month after returning to Baskonia, veteran guard Pablo Prigioni has announced his retirement at age 39.

The Argentine retires having been unable to register a single point for Baskonia in the EuroLeague this season.

However, it is the timing of the decision, which Prigioni himself posted on Twitter that surprised some. He was widely expected to end his career at Baskonia, for whom he spent seven years with before he headed to the NBA to play for the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers in a four-year stint, starting in 2012.

Prigioni then returned “home” to Vitoria in December on a season-long deal with many expecting the crafty point guard to see out the campaign.

But after just three EuroLeague games, and taking into account the overall bizarre timing of his announcement to retire, considering that the 39-year-old had only just re-signed for Baskonia, Prigioni feels that this is the right time.

Posted in Spanish on his Twitter account, Prigioni writes:

I never dreamed of the day when I had to announce that I would stop playing basketball. It’s because I do not know what the ideal way to do so would be. The truth is that I had very clear signals from my body and my head, indicating that the time had come to leave. I pay attention to these signs and make this decision without hesitation. As I always did during my career. When I had to make a decision, I have always been 100% convinced. My head and my body are completely in agreement that it is the moment I withdraw from the professional basketball. 

Prigioni retires ranked fifth in assists in the EuroLeague’s all-time list (804) and is third in steals (322). With Baskonia he won several titles, including three Spanish King’s Cups (2004, 2006, 2009), four Spanish Supercups (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008), and the ACB title in 2008.

The guard was also a stalwart of the Argentinean national team, with whom he won an Olympic bronze medal in 2008, four medals at the FIBA Americas championship, as well as gold medals at the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball and the 2004 South American Championship.