Sydney Kings and Boomers champion Andrew Bogut contemplating retirement
Might we have seen the last of Andrew Bogut on a basketball court? The Boomers big man says he has a lot of thinking to do before he commits to another season - even with the lure of an Olympics farewell.
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Andrew Bogut is weighing up retirement because he doesn’t know if his ageing body can survive another injury-plagued season.
Bogut, 35, had planned to evaluate his future after playing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but this has changed following the postponement of the Games due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
The Tokyo games will now go ahead in the summer of 2021, but the Sydney Kings big man isn’t sure if he will still be playing basketball by then.
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Bogut is off-contract at the Kings and yet to decide if he will renew his contract or hang up his sneakers following an illustrious career.
He battled a raft of injuries this season and concedes he can’t handle another season of physical setbacks.
“I’ve got something left, how much that is, well that is the question,” Bogut told News Corp Australia.
“To be honest, I can’t go through another season like this year, both mentally and physically.
“I just wouldn’t do it.
“I had a tough season injury wise. A lot of that was because I got hurt at the World Cup, played through that and then came into camp unhealthy with a bad ankle.
“I then re-injured it in pre-season and from there I was never 100 per cent.
“I don’t want people to think that I’m using it as an excuse, but the reality was that I was never close to 100 per cent this whole season.”
Bogut admits his future stance may change if he can have a restful off-season that allows him to fully recover.
In an ideal world, he would love to have an Olympic swansong with the Boomers.
“If I can have a good off-season and get the body right, both mentally and physically, that could possibly help me get through another year of basketball.
“That is a discussion that I’ve got to have with my body, my mind and the family as well.
“It would be pretty hard to get to an Olympics without playing.
“I think it is doable, but it is putting myself behind the eight ball.
“I’ll just get through the virus and then make a decision from there.
“First thing is to get through this whole virus issue. I haven’t had a whole lot of time to sit down and pencil down what my future looks like.
“It could go either way.
“I could figure out a way to get to the 2021 Olympics, but I could also say no.
“It is a hard one to make a decision on given the current dynamics in the world.”