Former Boston Celtics point guard Malcolm Brogdon has decided to retire from the NBA, per Shams Charania of ESPN. He signed a training camp deal with the New York Knicks earlier this summer, and many fans expected him to be a potential favorite to make the roster. But now, he’ll hang up his sneakers for good.
Brogdon was the first second-round pick to win Rookie of the Year back in 2017, and he was a key member of some solid Milwaukee Bucks teams before moving on to the Indiana Pacers. He then won the Sixth Man of the Year award with the Celtics in 2022-23, but was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers after just one season in Boston.
Now, after just nine seasons, he’s done with basketball.
Why did Malcolm Brogdon retire?
In his three preseason games with the Knicks up to this point, Brogdon struggled. He played just 11.3 minutes per contest, and his efficiency was nowhere near where they likely wanted it to be.
Brogdon averaged 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting just 30.0% from the field and 28.6% from deep on 2.3 three-point attempts per contest.
Obviously, that’s a very small sample size to be working with, but it’s still not exactly what the Knicks wanted to see. Especially considering Brogdon was competing with guys like Landry Shamet and Garrison Matthews for a potential roster spot in New York.
At the peak of his NBA talent, Brogdon was a great ball-handler and extremely efficient scorer at the point guard position. He even joined the elusive 50-40-90 club in the 2018-19 season as a member of the Bucks.
That year, Brogdon appeared in 64 games for Milwaukee. He averaged 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while shooting 50.5% from the field, 42.6% from deep range (3.8 attempts), and 92.8% from the free-throw line (which led the NBA that season).
The Knicks were probably hoping they could get the last little bit of NBA life out of Brogdon, but evidently, that didn’t come to fruition.
His retirement was very sudden, as he probably could have worked to make the roster this year, even if it was in a veteran mentor-type role.
But now, he will look to find a new chapter of his life, whether or not it has to do with basketball. Meanwhile, the Knicks will have to eliminate him from their roster decision-making process.