The 7 most bizarre reasons for retirement in NBA history: Bird is too "stingy" and one person is afraid of flying

For NBA players, they will all end their careers one day. After all, no matter how strong the stars are, their competitive state will decline as they get older, so many stars will choose to leave decently before they can't play in the professional league. For example, Jordan, who averaged 20+ per game in his last year in the NBA, but he still completely announced his retirement without looking back.

However, the reason for retirement like Jordan is still very common in NBA history. After all, many super giants cannot accept the situation where they are unable to do so on the court, so they will choose to retire early. But like the seven players we included next, the reason why they retired was very strange. One of them was actually because they were afraid of taking a plane!

7. O'Neal (retired because he didn't get 30,000 points)

When it comes to the most dominant star in NBA history, many fans think of O'Neal. At his peak, he led the Lakers to three consecutive championships for three consecutive years, and he is also the only star since Jordan to win FMVP for three consecutive years. Therefore, O'Neal was undoubtedly the well-deserved No. 1 player in the league in those years. However, O'Neal is famous for being undisciplined in the super giant, which has led to his condition decline earlier. In addition, the conflict between him and Kobe is getting worse and worse, and the Lakers eventually traded him in 2004.

Although O'Neal was still declining after leaving the Lakers, the lean camel was bigger than the horse. In 2006, he still helped the Heat win the championship. However, after 2006, O'Neal's condition declined faster. Later, he played for the Suns, the Cavaliers, and the Celtics. Finally, he officially retired in 2011. When facing fans' questions, he also publicly stated that he could not score 30,000 points anyway, so he simply chose to retire. Therefore, O'Neal's total career score was frozen at 28,596 points.

6. Bird (retired due to "stinginess" and worsening back injury)

As the last star in the NBA who can win MVP for three consecutive years, Bird was naturally a super giant at the league's appearance level at his peak. Under his leadership, the Celtics also won three championships. In addition to these honors, Bird has also been selected for the Best Team, Best Defensive Team, and All-Star many times, so he had basically secured the top ten positions in history before his career ended.

However, in the late stage of his career, Bird encountered serious injuries, which also stemmed from his insistence on not hiring someone to repair the driveway for his parents' house in the 1985 offseason, which led to a dislocation of his spine. In his later career, as he grew older, the impact of this injury on him became more obvious. But even so, Bird, who averaged 24.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and this shows that he is unique.

5. Magic Johnson (retired due to AIDS)

Although there are too many players in NBA history who retired due to injuries, they are far inferior to Magic Johnson's injuries. The latter had to end his career early because of AIDS. Thinking about Magic Johnson as the face of the Lakers, he was a household name in Los Angeles, so his nightlife was also quite luxurious at that time, so he finally suffered from AIDS.

Before his first retirement, the Magic averaged 19.4 points, 7 rebounds, 12.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Under his leadership, the Lakers also won the Western Conference championship. Considering that he was only 31 years old at the time, if he hadn't been unlucky to suffer from this AIDS, he might have achieved more. After retiring in 1991, the Magic tried to make a comeback in the 1995-1996 season, but because of his own condition and the outside world still worried about his condition, he retired shortly after playing.

4. Spreeville (retired because he looked down on the 21 million contract)

"Madman" Spreeville, he is an NBA star with a very unique personality. He also had quite good strength at his peak. In the 1993-1994 season, he was selected for the All-First Team and the All-Defensive Second Team at the same time with his average of 21 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals. From this, we can see why he has the confidence to maintain a rebellious personality.

And in the late stage of his career, Spreeville still had no change. At the age of 34, he looked down on the Timberwolves' 3-year offer of $21 million. Not only did he fail to agree to renew his contract, but he also bluntly stated that a contract with an annual salary of no more than $10 million cannot afford my living expenses. As a result, until the end, no other team gave Spreville the big contract he wanted, so he had no choice but to leave the NBA, and then he went bankrupt due to excessive consumption.

3. Larry Sanders (retired for changing careers)

As a first-round pick, Sanders has played very well in the NBA. In his peak season, he averaged 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. Therefore, the Bucks also gave him a big contract totaling $44 million. However, in Sanders' heart, he was already tired of professional basketball, so he told the team management directly that he didn't want to play basketball. From his disregard for professionalism, he could see that he was indeed serious.

In the end, Sanders, who had outstanding talent, retired after only playing in the NBA for 5 seasons. Later, he began to draw and write poetry, but obviously he was not the material. After leaving the NBA, he realized more how important the income from playing in the NBA is to him. So Sanders tried to return to the NBA, but unfortunately this was obviously unrealistic.

2. Darren Collison (retired due to personal belief)

Collison and Sanders have similar experiences. Although he did not directly express that he retired because he was tired of basketball, the reason he gave was because of his personal belief, so he had to complete his religious mission. Before this retirement, he averaged 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Therefore, the outside world was very surprised by his decision at the beginning.

However, the reason why Collison and Sanders have similar experiences is that he regretted it later. He thought about making a comeback in the 2021-2022 season, but only the Lakers gave him a 10-day contract, during which he averaged only 1.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game, and this time he was forced to end his career.

1. Reus White (retired for fear of flying)

To be specific, White is not just afraid of flying, but because he has psychological barriers to this matter. The reason why he has such a mentality is also related to his experience in his youth. White was a problem teenager since childhood. He was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and was accused of multiple thefts in college. However, due to his outstanding performance in the NCAA, he was selected at the 16th pick in the first round when he participated in the draft. However, after entering the league, White could not try to adapt to the flying life, so he played 3 games and was still at home, and then he left the NBA.