Slovenian giant Beno Udrih is officially retiring
Author Eurohoops team / [email protected]
Two-time NBA champion Beno Udrih has announced his retirement from basketball at 39 years old. Although Udrih played his last game with Zalgiris Kaunas three years ago and has been working as a player development coach at the New Orleans Pelicans since 2020, he has not officially ended his career to date (11/27). post on Instagram.
“They say professional athletes die with two deaths – the first is when you can no longer play that sport,” Udrih wrote. “It took me two long years to accept and announce that I was retiring from basketball. Coming from a small village in Slovenia, playing 13 consecutive years in the NBA league and winning 2 championship titles is more than I could have dreamed of and I loved every minute of it. Basketball has been a part of my professional life since I was 16 and is something I hope I will never have to give up. Now I want to be a coach just as much as I wanted to be a professional player when I was a kid. I hope to share and guide my knowledge to the next generation, just like many coaches for me.
Thank you to the fans and everyone who supported me on this journey, especially my family. “
In 2005, Udrih won the NBA title as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. He and his great husband Rašo Nesterović (now the general secretary of the Basketball Association of Slovenia) then became the first Slovenians to earn an NBA league ring.
Udrih won his second NBA title in 2007, his final year with the Spurs. In total, he has played 874 games in 13 seasons with teams such as the Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and most recently the Detroit Pistons.
In Europe, Udrih played four seasons in the Euroleague with Union Olimpija, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Zalgiris. He has won several domestic titles in the ABA league, Slovenia, Israel and Lithuania.
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