Richard Hamilton officially retires from NBA

Richard Hamilton, who spent nine years with the Detroit Pistons, announced his retirement from the NBA Thursday.

"Rip" made it official while a guest on ESPN's "His & Hers, hosted by Detroit native Jemele Hill and Michael Smith.

Hamilton last played in the NBA in April 2013 as a member of the Chicago Bulls, where he spent two largely ineffective seasons.

The perpetual motion machine, who never saw a screen he couldn't exploit for a mid-range jumper opportunity began his career in Washington but made his mark in the NBA after being traded to Detroit in exchange for Jerry Stackhouse.

It was in Detroit where he became the leading scorer on the NBA's most balanced team. He averaged 18.4 points while in Detroit and made three All-Star games (2006-08). He also played in 120 postseason games in Detroit, winning a championship in 2004.

While Hamilton's announcement might seem perfunctory or you might be thinking, "Wait, didn't he retire two years ago?" you can see it is a struggle for him to actually force the words out of his mouth.

"It's tough, you know, when you've been playing the game that you love your whole entire life. I've been playing the game since I was the age of 7 years old. That's like, all I knew and all I know. I miss my teammates and I miss the locker room," Hamilton said.

The 14-year-veteran said he planned to make a comeback this season after taking last year off, but a foot injury derailed his plans and let him know that maybe it was time to hang up his sneakers, which he was wearing around his neck.

Asked if he would reconsider his retirement if a championship-caliber team like Cleveland called him tomorrow, Hamilton said, "Like MJ did say, 99.9 (percent), but I'm done. I played a lot of great basketball and I don't want to be one of those guys that is just holding on."

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