Former NBA big man Meyers Leonard has officially retired as a basketball player, announcing the news on Instagram (hat tip to Chris Haynes).
After playing a modest role as a freshman at Illinois, Leonard had a breakout sophomore season back in 2011/12 with the Illini and was selected 11th overall in the 2012 draft.
Leonard, who turned 33 years old last week, spent his first seven seasons with the Trail Blazers prior to being traded to the Heat as part of the Jimmy Butler blockbuster in 2019.
Leonard’s time in Miami was not without controversy, as he was fined $50K by the NBA and suspended from all team activities for a week for making an anti-Semitic comment during a Twitch livestream. Shortly after the incident, he was traded to — and subsequently released by — Oklahoma City.
After missing the entire ’21/22 campaign due to an injury, Leonard was able to find a new team in February 2023, signing a pair of 10-day deals and then a rest-of-season contract with the Bucks. He has been a free agent since the 2023 offseason, when his tenure with Milwaukee ended.
Overall, Leonard played parts of 10 NBA seasons, averaging 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game across 456 regular season appearances, including 95 starts. He mostly played center, but he also saw some time at power forward in his first few seasons. Leonard was known for his ability to space the floor, as he held a career mark of 39.0% from three-point range.