Al Harrington, who spent much of his 16-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers, announced his retirement Wednesday.
The 6-foot-9 forward last appeared in the NBA in 2013-14, playing 34 games for the Washington Wizards. Harrington, 35, is currently assisting the Denver Nuggets’ coaching staff as a volunteer.
“I’m very happy with what I was able to accomplish,” Harrington said in an interview with the Denver Post. “I was able to change a lot of people’s lives in my family, including myself in a game that I eventually fell in love with and will always be in love with. And hopefully I can stay around the game until I die.
“It was a fun ride. It went by fast, too. It was like one minute I was 18, the next I was 25 then was 30 and now I’m 35. It was a fun run. Met a lot of great people.”
Harrington finishes with career averages of 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He played seven seasons with the Pacers and also was a member of the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Washington. He helped Indiana reach the Eastern Conference finals in 2004.
He was the Pacers’ first-round pick (No. 25 overall) in 1998 out of St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, N.J.
Harrington’s best season was 2008-09, when he averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists over a combined 73 games (56 starts) for the Warriors and Knicks.
This season, Harrington played briefly for a team in China before returning to the United States.
“I missed my family so much,” Harrington told the Post. “There’s only so much FaceTime I can do. I saw them walking around the house, which made me even more homesick. So, I had to get back home to the family.”