Retired players after 2012 Olympics

[GustavoGanso2]

players that will never play for national team again.

Brazil:

Marcelinho Machado (37 years old)


Lithuania:

Šarūnas Jasikevičius
Darius Songaila
Rimantas Kaukėnas


Argentina:

Manu Ginobili, Andrés Nocioni?


United States:

Kobe Bryant


which more? at least we can make a team... lol

 

[Nakule2]

Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Darius Songaila and Rimantas Kaukėnas approved the retirement.

 

[Dtown2]

United States:

Kobe Bryant

 

[NorCal2]

I don't know if they should be listed as retiring for sure but it has been my belief for some time that most of our core guys who played in 2008 and on this team will not play for the USA after this summer if we win gold. I think the following guys will step down and let some of the youngsters step in:

Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams, Andre Igoudala, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard

I think these guys would be able to play in 2014 but will decline, much like the 2008 guys did for the 2010 WC. And by 2016 the majority of these guys will be in their early 30s and will either be thinking about saving their health to sign one more contract in the NBA or will simply not be good enough to make that team.

From the guys I listed above I could only see James, Anthony or Howard possibly playing for the 2016 team. It should be a new generation of Team USA players after this tournament (again, only if we win gold)

 

[Pleasant2]

I think the younger players from the US team would only play in the Olympics again if they didn't get gold this year. I couldn't imagine any of them, unfortunately, suiting up in 2014 (except maybe Davis).

As for other retiring players, well it's not exactly earth-shattering news, but:

China:
Liu Wei
Wang Shipeng
Zhu Fangyu
Wang Zhi Zhi (out for 2016, but possible for 2014)

Source: http://www.niubball.com/2012/08/end-of-an-era-wang-zhizhi-liu-wei-retire-from-national-tea

I'll miss Wang

 

[Victorious2]

Dwayne Wayde, before his injury, said that the London Olympics would be his final tournament with the USA jersey.
It is fair to assume that since coach K will resign, a new core will be established with Kevin Durant as their leader.

After watching aging Spain, and seeing many players in other teams reitre. I have the feeling the balance of power in Europe until the next Olympics will change. Based on the pool of talent, Russia, Greece and Serbia followed by France (considering Parker will stay) will be the dominating teams on the continent until the next Olympics. Spain may hang in there until 2014.

Some of the players who won't be there during the next Olympics are: Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro, Filipe Reyes, Manu Ginobili, Nicioni, Prigioni, Scola, Saras Jasikevicious, Kaukenas, Songaila, Alex Garcia, Giovanoni, Machado, Nowitzki, Turkoglou, Arroyo. Just to name a few.

There will be a total shift of the balance of power.
The high level teams at the moment who can potentially keep all their players have the potential to become better are Russia, Greece and Serbia.

 

[Shawshank2]

Our long time leaders Jasikevicius,Songaila,Kaukenas are retiring from national team.

Rimantas Kaukenas (2001,2007,2008,2011,2012).Lithuanians one of the most entuziastic SG we ever had.He had very seriuos injury in november and doctors said he wont play this season.But Kaukenas worked hard to recover and on may we was playing with Montespachi and wasnt 100% ready,but he agreed to help national team.Last game against russia highest scorer on the floor 19 points.THank you Rimantas

Darius Songaila (2000,2001,2003,2004,2006,2007,2011,2012) By many lithuanians considered our best Power Forward of all time.Back in 2000 even we lithuanians didnt know such name Songaila,but our coach Kazlauskas took him on the final roster for olimpic games.Many thought was something like who is he? And in 2000 olimpic games against americans Darius shown he is very strong and tough player inside,and that he do not allow to push him arround,always were holding his teritory inside.Years was flying by and he was strong starting 5 player for Lietuva.He made solid 8 year nba career.In 2011 he got alot of critical remarks on his tournavers against macedonia,that i felt wasnt fair...THis summer Songaila was taken as our 5 big men behind Kleiza,Valanciunas,Javtokas,Jankunas.So he should have seen little playing time.But the shinning moment for him was in QF tournament 1/4 agains puerturico Valanciunas got 5 foul,Javtokas got injury in that game and suddenly from bench our coach bring in our last men standing 2m06 veteren songaila to defend 2m16 santiago and 2,22m Ramos...And Darius as entire his career hold his own teritory inside and stopped them,he was huge in that close win for lietuva,that let us make olympic games 6 time in a row.And from that point he was playing superb.In olimpics in 18 minutes playing time,we was our most productive player and argubly best player...Well done Darius,this is how you deserve to retire from national team !

and of course Sarunas Jasikevicius (1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2003,2004,2007,2008,2011,2012).What can you say about him that you do not know already? Simple kid from streets of kaunas,people are saying from his teenagers years,he liked to command on the basketball couart even to older kids than he was Sarunas made his debut with men national team yersey back in 1997.Before that in 1994 and 1996 Lithuanian youths u18 and u20 won two championships with jasikevicius.He is and will be champion,he is known for bringing his best matches in the most important games.5 time euroleague champion with 3 different clubs,with him in charge Lietuva won Mens Euro 2003 Championship, until now the only lithuanian gold in mens competion ( i dont count 1937,1939 .Simply Jasikevicius was the heart and soul of Lithuanias national team for 15 years,and gonna be missed a lot not only by lithuanians,i think hes charizma,leadership,talks with refereees gonna be missed and by many basketball fans all over the world...


Thank You Rimantas,Darius,Sarunas for the fantastic memories,enjoable moments when we fans felt that biggest and most powerfull countries are affraid of Lithuania on the basketball couart...Your dedication for our national team will never be forgotten.Big big thank you from the bottom of my heart

sincerely,basketball fan from Lithuania

 

[Jokinen2]

For Argentina Scola, Nocioni and Delfino already said that they won't retire from the NT, they'll keep playing as long as the coach calls them. Ginobili is the only one who said that London might be his last tournament with the NT, but then said that he will decide the next year. And I don't know what will Prigioni do. He is the oldest, i guess he will probably retire.

 

[Hepcat2]

Thank You Rimantas,Darius,Sarunas for the fantastic memories,enjoable moments when we fans felt that biggest and most powerfull countries are affraid of Lithuania on the basketball couart...Your dedication for our national team will never be forgotten.Big big thank you from the bottom of my heart

Well said. My sentiments exactly. The "experts" said that Team Lietuva's play would fade after the retirement of Arvydas Sabonis in 1999. Well because of players such as these three and Štombergas, Šiškauskas and Macijauskas, Team Lietuva remained a feared opponent for other basketball teams until now.

What's particularly worrisome though is that Songaila and Kaukėnas were actually Lithuania's two best players at this tournament despite the fears that they were getting old and had lost a step. They'll be tough to replace.

 

[Shawshank2]

For Argentina Scola, Nocioni and Delfino already said that they won't retire from the NT, they'll keep playing as long as the coach calls them. Ginobili is the only one who said that London might be his last tournament with the NT, but then said that he will decide the next year. And I don't know what will Prigioni do. He is the oldest, i guess he will probably retire.

This team is something.

Prigioni 35 Ginobili 35 Gutierez 34 Jasen 34 Scola 32 Nocioni 32 Delfino 30 at such age they still makes it happen.Its young men game,where is their secret ? Really maybe i dont like them alot,but i respect and admire them.Summer after summer they come,play and win.Last Couple championship everybody is talking they are old,they can do it anymore.But we all see age is not a factor for this argentina team.I bet tommorow they gonna beat the youngest tournament team from Russia.Maybe we gonna see in 2016 same team ? why not ginobili gona be only 39,scola 36 why not? they still gonna be young men

 

[CHBB2]

I don't know if they should be listed as retiring for sure but it has been my belief for some time that most of our core guys who played in 2008 and on this team will not play for the USA after this summer if we win gold. I think the following guys will step down and let some of the youngsters step in:

Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams, Andre Igoudala, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard

I think these guys would be able to play in 2014 but will decline, much like the 2008 guys did for the 2010 WC. And by 2016 the majority of these guys will be in their early 30s and will either be thinking about saving their health to sign one more contract in the NBA or will simply not be good enough to make that team.

From the guys I listed above I could only see James, Anthony or Howard possibly playing for the 2016 team. It should be a new generation of Team USA players after this tournament (again, only if we win gold)

No way Melo could play for 2014 or 2016. He's nothing more than a scorer who takes advantage of his height as is, and he'll be 30 in 2014. Howard will play in 2016 I think though. He's going to be 30 then, they haven't found his replacement yet, and he didn't play this year because of injury. Chris Paul is the only one I could see playing out of that group, except maybe LeBron but that is a big maybe given the way his body has been worn down over his career.

Dwayne Wayde, before his injury, said that the London Olympics would be his final tournament with the USA jersey.
It is fair to assume that since coach K will resign, a new core will be established with Kevin Durant as their leader.

After watching aging Spain, and seeing many players in other teams reitre. I have the feeling the balance of power in Europe until the next Olympics will change. Based on the pool of talent, Russia, Greece and Serbia followed by France (considering Parker will stay) will be the dominating teams on the continent until the next Olympics. Spain may hang in there until 2014.

Some of the players who won't be there during the next Olympics are: Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro, Filipe Reyes, Manu Ginobili, Nicioni, Prigioni, Scola, Saras Jasikevicious, Kaukenas, Songaila, Alex Garcia, Giovanoni, Machado, Nowitzki, Turkoglou, Arroyo. Just to name a few.

There will be a total shift of the balance of power.
The high level teams at the moment who can potentially keep all their players have the potential to become better are Russia, Greece and Serbia.

Complete agree, though I think Turkey will be better in the future than they are now given that they still have Ilysova, Enes Kanter, and Omer Asik.

Damn, look at those names. This is the end of an era, not just for specific teams like Argentina, Spain, etc but for the Olympics and basketball in general. Carlos Arroyo was a part of one of the few teams to ever beat the US in an International event. Argentina, as we all know, won gold in 2004. Spain is the only team to ever truly challenge the USA as a legitimate number two over everybody else in this modern era. We're talking about pioneers here, not just for their countries but in college basketball (Jasikevicious, Songalia, Arroyo) and especially the NBA. These guys legitimized International players in basketball on a broad scale, whereas before players like Drazen, Vlade, Arvydas, Kukoc, etc were considered the exception for International players and not the rule. I feel bad for all of the people who never got to watch these players play Internationally in their prime because they were ignorant to basketball outside of the US. We're talking about NBA superstars here, International NBA superstars, and the ones who weren't were at one point or another some of the best players in the NBA in that second-tier under superstars.

I have to wonder whether teams like Argentina and Spain can replace their aging players in the future. Spain has got some talented young and not-over the hill players like Marc, Llull, Ibaka, Rudy, Claver, Sergio Rodriguez, Sada, and San Emeterio but are they able to replace JCNavarro, Calderon, Pau, Reyes, etc? If they are, then Spain could be a force for a long time, similar to the longevity of Argentina and Lithuania. As for Argentina, can Mata, Campazzo, and JP Gutierrez replace the Golden Generation? If Delfino plays, can he replace what Manu gives them? If they don't find some more young, talented players then Argentina's basketball team is going to fall off a steep cliff.

For Argentina Scola, Nocioni and Delfino already said that they won't retire from the NT, they'll keep playing as long as the coach calls them. Ginobili is the only one who said that London might be his last tournament with the NT, but then said that he will decide the next year. And I don't know what will Prigioni do. He is the oldest, i guess he will probably retire.

If they play in 2014 or 2016, I will officially consider them gods of basketball and will praise them and build shrines to them. That's some crazy longevity, especially for a guy like Manu who beats up his body so much during the NBA season and post-season.

Well said. My sentiments exactly. The "experts" said that Team Lietuva's play would fade after the retirement of Arvydas Sabonis in 1999. Well because of players such as these three and Štombergas, Šiškauskas and Macijauskas, Team Lietuva remained a feared opponent for other basketball teams until now.

What's particularly worrisome though is that Songaila and Kaukėnas were actually Lithuania's two best players at this tournament despite the fears that they were getting old and had lost a step. They'll be tough to replace.

You do have Kleiza and Valanciunas and Motiejunas so you've still got plenty of young potential combined with an experienced elite scorer.

 

[CKR132]

LeBron James sounded unsure of his future participation with Team USA. He said not to "pencil him in" for 2014 and 2016.

For China, I think the following would have made London their swan song:

Wang Zhizhi
Wang ShiPeng
Zhu Fangyu
Liu Wei

 

[Jazz2]

Chris Paul is the only one I could see playing out of that group, except maybe LeBron but that is a big maybe given the way his body has been worn down over his career.

Do you think Chris Paul will have longevity? Taking Isiah Thomas as a reference point that type of player seems to get worn out especially quickly.

 

[pimpekaustas2]

paul gasool, navarro ad reyes announced retirement from NT, but no fear for spain future if they dont have their own talents to replace them they l keep steaing from others so i wish them all the worse n the future

After Samb, Mirotic, Fall & the Diop brothers, Spain is trying to convince several foreign youngsters to play for its youth national teams in the upcoming years. But as in Diop brothers case, players were offered to obtain spanish citizenship very early in order to be considered as local and not naturalized players. After Adnan Omeragic ('96 Unelco Tenerife) who has bosnian roots but who is born in Spain and is therefore a legitimate candidate for Spanish U15 NT, Spanish basketball Federation is also recruiting 3 kids from Bosnia Stefan Djurasinovic, Nedim Djedovic & Sandro Gacic.

Stefan Djurasinovic ('95) is an ethnic Serb, who plays for Estudiantes and who applied for the Spanish citizenship in order to play for Spain. Djurasinovic was born & grew up in Bosnia where his family lived as refugee since its departure from Croatia.

Bosnian NT player Nihad Djedovic's younger brother, Nedim Djedovic ('97 Barcelona), who is considered to be the best young player of his generation in Spain also had an offer of the Spanish basketball association. Nedim who was born in Germany, seems to be closer to Spanish NT.

Last but not the least, Caja Laboral propsect, Sandro Gacic ('96) who pointed out several times that he wants to play only for Bosnia won't play at the U16 European Championship due to private reasons. He also had an offer to play for Spain. Moreover, his younger brother Armano on Caja Laboral radar.

 

[rikhardur2]

paul gasool, navarro ad reyes announced retirement from NT

Can't get any news about that...

 

[pimpekaustas2]

i read it today on index.hr, although its tabloid portal maybee it s not true, wee l see

 

[NorCal2]

I HIGHLY doubt Gasol or Navarro step down until after the 2014 WC. Its in their country, the public will be clamoring for them to play, especially Gasol

 

[Khalid802]

I HIGHLY doubt Gasol or Navarro step down until after the 2014 WC. Its in their country, the public will be clamoring for them to play, especially Gasol

Exactly! It wouldn't make any sense at all to retire now when the FIBA World Cup (as they like to call it now ) is being held on your home country and among your fans and supporters.

 

[CHBB2]

Do you think Chris Paul will have longevity? Taking Isiah Thomas as a reference point that type of player seems to get worn out especially quickly.

Chris Paul's not really too much like Isiah Thomas. He's a strong, smaller-playing point guard who's built like a running back. He doesn't put anywhere near as much strain on his knees as a guy like Isiah did.

 

[Petran2]

I HIGHLY doubt Gasol or Navarro step down until after the 2014 WC. Its in their country, the public will be clamoring for them to play, especially Gasol

If the WC was going to be held in another country than Spain, then they would have called it a day. Now, I expect them to skip next year's Euro and give a last hurah in front of their home fans. It would be too hard to skip that tourney, and they actually deserve to go with a home crowd cheering for them. And actually, with Calderon, Rudi, Marc, Ibaca and all the rest it is not that they will have to carry their team. They can relax and give the most only in the knock out games.