Lou Williams retires from the NBA after 17 seasons

Atlanta Hawks guard Lou Williams has announced that he is retiring from the NBA after a 17-year career.

The 36-year-old took to Instagram to announce his decision in a special Father’s Day themed video, featuring a voiceover from his daughter, who wrote a letter to him in the clip praising his achievements.

In his caption, he thanked his kids, Zoe, Syx and Jada, before saying goodbye to the NBA.

He wrote: ‘Thank you all. JJ, Zoe $, Syx Man. Thanks everyone. Lots of love. Happy Father’s Day. Well done, underground. Parting.’

Williams joined the league right out of high school and won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award three times.

The guard leaves the league as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer after stints with six teams – Philadelphia, Toronto, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta. He last played in the 2021/22 season with the Hawks.

Of 1,123 regular season games played in 17 seasons, Williams came off the bench in 1,001. He scored 13,396 points off the bench, which is 2,117 more than Jamal Crawford and 2,249 more than Dell Curry.

Williams and Crawford are the only three-time recipients of the Sixth Man award in league history.

He was not a top pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, being drafted out of South Gwinnett High School by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 45th overall pick in the second round.

Of the 60 players hired that year, only Chris Paul scored more points in the NBA than Williams. He ends his career with 15,593 points, 131st in NBA history.

Williams struggled to impress in his first two seasons, but did not become a regular part of the bench until his third year with Philadelphia.

He averaged 13 points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal while hitting 42 percent of his shots during his seven-year stint with the 76ers.