Former Kings, Warriors And Raptors Player Retires

According to a press release from Rider men's basketball, NBA veteran Jason Thompson has retired. The 36-year-old spent eight seasons in the NBA playing for the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors.

After an impressive college career for the Rider Broncos, Jason Thompson was the 12th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.

During his senior season, he averaged 20.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per contest.

He most recently played in the NBA during the 2015-16 season and has played several seasons overseas.

This past year, he played six games for Hapoel Haifa and averaged 8.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest in six games.

However, the 36-year-old is retiring from playing basketball and is now joining the Rider men's basketball team coaching staff (h/t Kyle Franko of The Trentonian and Hoops Hype).

Rider announced the addition of Thompson in a press release.

Rider Legend @jtthekid Announces Retirement From Professional Basketball, Joins @RiderMBB Staff

📰 https://t.co/nAIlGxv1Aq#GoBroncs #MAACHoops pic.twitter.com/xJYgnN3z5Z

— Rider Men’s Basketball (@RiderMBB) October 3, 2022

Thompson played eight seasons in the NBA and has career averages of 8.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per contest over 588 regular season games.

He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Kings but played the final season for the Raptors and Warriors.

The Kings have not made the NBA Playoffs since the 2006 season, which is the longest drought in the NBA.

That being said, he was still able to play in ten NBA Playoff games for the Raptors at the end of his career. 

Rider shared a statement from Thompson: "As I reflect on my career, Rider University has done so much for me both on and off the court – academically and through the basketball program," said Jason Thompson, Former NBA player and Special Assistant to the Head Coach. "Rider University has helped me on the court to become a 13-year pro and off the court to start the Jason Thompson Foundation, a leadership program and give back to the community. Even though I am retiring, I will not be leaving the game of basketball. I can't think of a better way to still be around the game than by coming back to Rider University with Head Coach , who was an Assistant Coach when I played. I'm excited to be here and looking forward to taking the next steps into my new journey."

They will play their first game of the 2022-23 season when they go on the road to face off with Providence on Nov. 8.