Lou Williams Addresses Retirement Speculation

Former Clippers guard Lou Williams has not yet decided on his basketball future

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After being traded from the LA Clippers to the Atlanta Hawks at the 2021 trade deadline, it started to look increasingly likely that retirement was on the horizon for Lou Williams. The NBA's all-time leading bench scorer had previously vowed to finish his career with the Clippers, insinuating he would likely retire should the team send him elsewhere. After being dealt to Atlanta, Lou admitted that he considered retirement; however, the opportunity to finish his career in his home town was one that made him reconsider.

After playing well for the Hawks, including two playoff starts in Trae Young's absence where he averaged 19 PPG and 6.5 APG on 63% shooting, Lou decided to sign in Atlanta for one more year. During his 2021-22 campaign, the veteran guard admitted that he was at peace with the possibility of retirement, saying, "I'm embracing it. I speak so freely about it, because I don't know when I'll retire. I have the freedom to make that decision, whether it's this year, next year, or I wanna keep going... cuz I can still play at a high level. It's not a lack of talent, I think I'm just mentally in a space where I'm ready to give my energy to something else."

Since that time, Lou has become the first player in NBA history with 1,000 appearances off the bench; however, those appearances became increasingly infrequent as the season went on. While it was unclear at the time how Lou felt about his diminishing role, his recent comments on the Knuckleheads podcast indicate the situation in Atlanta may no longer be ideal.

"If I continue to hoop, it's going to be because I find a situation that feels good, that feels right, is organic, is somewhere where I can grow still as a player, is somewhere where my influence can be used for younger guys," Lou said. "And you can still use me on the floor or not, I can be there as a conduit for what you got going on, it's just gotta be beneficial. Long story short, it just gotta make sense. I ain't just gonna sit over there for the sake of sitting over there, I got more important shit that I can be doing with my time."

When asked about the travel that NBA players experience, Lou said, "That's why the retirement shit keep coming up around me, because I think I'm just at a point where I'm tired... I think I just gotta evolve. I need to find new things to do on the road. I need to find new shit to spend my energy on, my time on, because the NBA how I know it, I'm over it. I'm 35, when I came in I was 17."

"This will be my 18th season if I stick around," Lou said. "It ain't about basketball. I still got the desire to play, I still got the passion for the game, I still love competing." While he still has that passion for the game, Lou admitted that the growth of his kids is something he doesn't want to miss out on. With his daughters advancing in sports of their own, and his two-year-old son growing up as well, Lou isn't sure how much longer he is willing to be on the road. That said, he has not ruled out one more season, but it has to be a situation where his impact can be felt.