Ben Wallace Says He Will Retire After This Season

by SB Nation NBA News on Feb 14, 2012 12:01 PM EST in Detroit Pistons News

(SB Nation Detroit, David Vranicar) Ben Wallace said Monday that this will be his last NBA season. The 37-year-old Wallace, who is a four-time defensive player of the year, was quoted saying,

"No consideration to coming back. This is definitely my last year."

Wallace is set to break Avery Johnson's record for the most games played by an undrafted player since the ABA-NBA merger. Tuesday will be Wallace's 1,055th game.

For Wallace, this is the 16th season of a career that began in Washington in 1996. He played for the Wizards through the 98-99 season and then played one year in Orlando before joining the Pistons and becoming one of the NBA's most recognizable - and unlikely - stars.

He is a four-time NBA All-Star (2003 through 2006) and four-time NBA defensive player of the year (2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006). He has thrice been named All-NBA Second Team (2003, 2004 and 2006).

Wallace averaged a career-best 15.4 rebounds during the 2002-03 season.

After the 2006 season he went to Chicago for two seasons, Cleveland for two seasons and then wound up back in Detroit in 2009-10. This season he is averaging 1.0 point and 3.4 boards per game.

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He deserves a hero's goodbye and a spot in the rafters.

Even if only for this:

"Go shitty team, go" -Kriz

by BandWagonerPaysTheDues on Feb 14, 2012 2:50 PM EST reply actions 8 recs

a true legend of Detroit Sports.

The Distorted Waltz-NEW SONGS
@madpoopz

by madpoopz on Feb 14, 2012 4:13 PM EST up reply actions

Stuckey needs to give the #3 back to its rightful owner!

by Packfill on Feb 14, 2012 5:08 PM EST up reply actions

There’s an awesome section in The Art Of A Beautiful Game (which I’ve only plugged about 10 billion times on here) about Ben Wallace and how he would maximize his physicality by jumping horizontally for rebounds and blocks, not just up and down. He was the man fo’sho.

by garrettelliott on Feb 14, 2012 7:16 PM EST up reply actions

Good

I hate seeing him waste his time on this team, when he could be getting me off on my multitude of speeding tickets.

Scott Hastings was the greatest player in the league in Bulls vs. Lakers.

by newfy on Feb 14, 2012 4:00 PM EST reply actions

Rec’d for getting you off. Heh heh heh….

/Beavis and Butthead’d

by garrettelliott on Feb 14, 2012 4:56 PM EST up reply actions

This, for me, is almost as sad as Antonio Mcdyess retiring.

Cinnamon and sugary as softly spoken lies, you never know just how you look through other peoples' eyes

by SpursfanSteve on Feb 14, 2012 4:17 PM EST reply actions

i admire big ben

but i thought he was done even before this season started,
he lost his explosiveness, his lateral quickness, and, even worse, he lost his edge, seems lifeless on the court, but thats understandable, because if there is one person who knows how much this team fell off, its the man in the middle..

long, smooth, can stroke it

by jay_uno on Feb 14, 2012 4:30 PM EST reply actions