Nicolas Batum posts a video of almost ten minutes on his social networks. He appears with his son. You immediately know what it means, but it’s surprising in a player who, unlike most of his cohort, maintained a competitive level that was more than decent. At 37 years old and with 18 NBA seasons to his name (plus a string of summers wearing the bleu), the Frenchman has said enough.
Having found his comfort zone with the Los Angeles Clippers, he was probably not prepared for forced moves or, worse, to face a rebuild within the Angelino franchise. In 2025 he had signed for 11.48 million dollars and two years, the second of them a team option that was declined last June. Just before signing that contract, he had been vital in taking the Denver Nuggets to seven games in the playoffs.
Batum, who at some point in his career emerged as a secondary scorer to Kemba Walker and learned to reinvent himself to perfection as a modern four and even a five in small-ball lineups, has extended his professional career as a defensive specialist, an excellent shooter, and, overall, an invisible playmaker.
He leaves without the NBA championship prize, but with seven medals with the French national team. A European gold in 2013, two Olympic silver medals (2020 and 2024), another silver in EuroBasket 2011, and three bronze medals among World Cups (two) and Europe. How many would be gold if he had not coexisted with Spain?
In short, he leaves behind one of those players who adorn the landscape in an almost imperceptible way. But whose good work has always been valuable to his teams.
