Longtime NBA forward Nicolas Batum has retired as a player, he announced Monday on social media (Twitter video link).

The 25th overall pick in the 2008 draft, Batum has spent the past 18 years in the league, having suited up for the Trail Blazers, Hornets, Clippers (two different stints) and Sixers.

In 1,205 regular season appearances, including 877 starts, Batum averaged 9.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks on .436/.371/.831 shooting splits in 28.2 minutes per game. He also appeared in 76 playoff games (28.3 MPG), averaging 8.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.6 BPG on .436/.361/.791 shooting.

Batum said in a May 2025 interview that the 2025/26 season would likely be his last. He re-signed with the Clippers in July 2025 on two-year deal, but the team declined its $5.88MM option on his contract in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.

While Batum didn’t put up gaudy statistics, he was a valuable two-way contributor who was highly skilled in multiple aspects of the game. He was a tough, switchable defender whose main calling card was versatility. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Batum’s NBA contracts were worth approximately $208.7MM over the course of his career.

More to come…