Ex-Detroit Pistons forward and 10-year NBA veteran Bojan Bogdanović announced his retirement on Sunday.
Citing a 14-month battle with a foot injury that required him to miss the 2024-2025 season, Bogdanović, 36, decided to put an end to his career.
“Sometimes in life, you don’t choose the moment. The moment chooses you,” Bogdanović [wrote in a social media post](https://www.instagram.com/p/DLfQhM9NP66/). “After 14 months of battling a foot injury, two surgeries and countless efforts to get back on the court, the time has come to close a chapter.
“After more than two decades in the game, the moment has arrived to say goodbye to basketball. Not just as a sport, but as part of who I am.”
Originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bogdanović began his playing career for his hometown club Zrinjski Mostar before competing in Spain.
His play at Cibona Zagreb in Croatia — the country he represents internationally — caught the eye of the NBA and led to him being drafted 31st overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.
He wouldn’t officially join the Brooklyn Nets, who traded for Bogdanović on draft night, until 2014. Bogdanović would make the NBA All-Rookie Second Team for his first season.
During a career in which he played for six teams, Bogdanović competed in 719 regular season games averaging 15.6 points and 3.6 rebounds while being a career 46% shooter from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc.
“I had the honor of wearing the jerseys of the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons and finally the New York Knicks,” Bogdanović said. “Every stop left a mark. Every jersey carried its own weight.”
The Pistons traded for the 6-foot-7 forward in Sept. 2022 in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Saban Lee.
Bogdanović’s stint with the Pistons saw him put together some of his best play, averaging a career-high 21.6 points and 2.6 assists while shooting nearly 49% from the field and 41% from deep in the 2022-2023 season.
During his second season with the Pistons, Bogdanović was [traded to the New York Knicks](https://www.mlive.com/pistons/2024/02/pistons-trade-bogdanovic-burks-to-knicks-for-4-players-2-draft-picks.html). Bogdanović required season-ending surgeries after 29 games with the Knicks and was traded back to the Nets.
Due to his injuries, Bogdanović’s final NBA play came in the 2024 playoffs in a series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I’m closing this chapter, but my love for the game remains,” Bogdanović said. “I didn’t reach the end. I’ve reached the other side of the beginning...”