Nicolas Batum has decided to call it a career. The French small forward, without a team since July 1st, announced his retirement at age 37 with a video on social media featuring his son, explaining that he wants to go home to care for him.
A Calm Farewell
The message reads more as a serene reflection than an emotional goodbye. Batum acknowledges that his time with the French national team ended two years ago and that his NBA career has also come to an end, explaining that when you've played so much, there comes a moment when you have to know when to stop.
"I believe I've completed my cycle," he sums up. He assures that he has no fear of ceasing to be a player because he has lived everything he needed to live, and declares himself proud and happy. He chooses the Olympic Games with France as the best moment of his career, and remembers that it was special to have his son there with him.
The 2025-26 Season Numbers
He played his final season with the Los Angeles Clippers, appearing in 74 games with averages of 4 points and 2.5 rebounds, in a veteran rotation role. It was his second stint with the Los Angeles franchise.
Before that, he had played for Portland, where he developed and established himself in the league, Charlotte, a first stint with the Clippers themselves, and Philadelphia. Nearly two decades in the NBA with a profile that was ahead of its time: a tall wing capable of defending multiple positions, shooting three-pointers, and facilitating offense, in line with what later became known as "three and defense."
Spain's Most Consistent Rival
For Spanish basketball fans, Batum is something else entirely. For more than a decade, he was a fixture on the French national team that crossed paths with Spain again and again in major tournaments, in a rivalry that left far more joy on one side than the other.
With France, he won seven medals: two Olympic silvers, two World Championship bronzes, and three European medals, including the gold from the 2013 EuroBasket. That was his only major international title, in a career marked by painful defeats to Spain and the United States.
In the ranking of the best European players in history published by HoopsHype earlier this month, he appeared in 26th place, precisely with that reference to his lost finals.