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Lou Williams Addresses Potential Retirement
On Wednesday night, Lou Williams broke the record for most appearances off the bench in NBA history. With his 985th career game off the bench, Williams passed Dell Curry for the most such games in NBA history. With another career milestone under his belt, Williams is comfortable with the looming possibility of retirement.
In a recent interview, Lou was asked if the thought of retirement scares him. "Not at all, I'm embracing it. I speak so freely about it, because I don't know when I'll retire. I have the freedom to make that decision, whether it's this year, next year, or I wanna keep going... cuz I can still play at a high level. It's not a lack of talent, I think I'm just mentally in a space where I'm ready to give my energy to something else," Williams said.
Lou added that it would be cool to finish his career with the Atlanta Hawks, which is his hometown team, and the organization he hoped would draft him out of high school. While Lou is averaging the lowest minutes per game of his career since the 2006-07 season, when he was just 20 years old, he has still shown flashes of the bucket getter that fans have grown so used to seeing. Over his last 10 games, Lou has knocked down 52.6% of his shots from deep, and the Hawks have been 16.6 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor as opposed to when he sits.
While at age 35, Lou has slowed down considerably from his perennial 6th man of the year campaigns, he is not wrong to believe that he can still play at a high level. After an up and down start to the season, he has been very effective in his limited minutes for Atlanta, making his looming retirement decision one that will be predicated on personal preference rather than a lack of ability.
Whether Lou decides to call it a career at the end of this season or not, he has cemented himself as the most prolific bench scorer the game has ever seen. No player in NBA history has more 6MOY awards, bench points, or bench appearances than Lou Williams, making his career one of the most unique in league history. A borderline All-Star with the Clippers, Williams revived his career in a way that few ever have.
After contemplating retirement following the 2016-17 season, Lou Williams decided to suit up for the Clippers, ultimately adding several all-time records to his resume, and changing the trajectory of a franchise in the process. During his time with the Clippers, only Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden scored more 4th quarter points than Lou Williams did. His late-game heroics won several games that the Clippers had no business winning, including two in the 2019 playoffs against the Golden State Warriors.
It feels safe to say that players like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would not have been attracted to the Clippers as a potential destination had Lou Williams not kept the franchise alive during a time when many believed it would spiral downward. Between he and Patrick Beverley, a culture was established in Los Angeles that still remains despite their departures.
For these reasons and more, Lou Williams can comfortably retire on his own terms, knowing he left his mark the game of basketball.
