NBA star Grant Hill announces his retirement

Jeff Zillgitt | USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS – Grant Hill, one of basketball's most versatile players who never reached his full potential because of debilitating injuries, is calling it a career in the NBA.

The 18-year veteran and seven-time All-Star, who played for the Los Angeles Clippers this season, announced his retirement Saturday on TNT moments before the start of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.

Hill, 40, hinted at retirement this season but didn't come to his decision until earlier in the week.

"The last four or five years I would take about a month (after the season to decide to continue) and within a month, if I still wanted to do it, I would. Putting it simply, after a month, I just realized I didn't want to play anymore," Hill told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday. "There's a lot of reasons for that, but you know when you know. It just felt right. I'm excited and looking forward to moving on and doing other things.

"I worked hard. I put a lot into it, and I enjoyed every minute of it. But now is the time to move on. I feel great physically. It's important to go out feeling good, particularly considering all the setbacks I had health-wise throughout my career."

A gifted all-around player – he could score, pass and rebound – Hill seemed destined for a Hall of Fame career before ankle injuries derailed him. For his career, he averaged 16.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals. Still, Hill found ways to be productive even as he realized he could no longer play as he once did.

With his size (6-8, 225) and versatile skills, Hill revamped the point-forward position in the mid- and late-1990s with the Detroit Pistons, who made him the No. 3 overall pick in the 1994 draft. Hill was taken after Glenn Robinson (who played from 1994 to 2005) and Jason Kidd, 40, who hinted this week he planned on returning to the New York Knicks for another season.

Hill, the son of former Dallas Cowboys running back Calvin Hill and businesswoman Janet Hill, was named co-rookie of the year, with Kidd, for the 1994-95 season, averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals.

He maintained similar numbers in his six seasons with the Pistons, including 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 1996-97. He was named first-team All-NBA for the first and only time in his career that season.

Much of Hill's career was marked by "what-ifs." What if Hill had not been hobbled by ankle injuries for a significant portion of his career? His ankle trouble began near the end of his final season with the Pistons in 1999-2000, and it turned into a chronic problem. During a four-year span with the Orlando Magic – from 2000-01 through 2003-04 – Hill played in 47 games, including four in 2000-01 and none 2003-04.

His seven seasons with the Magic were not what Hill or the franchise had planned, but he revived his career with the Phoenix Suns starting in 2007-08 and found a perfect spot in Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo offense – and later for coach Alvin Gentry – led by point guard Steve Nash. Hill was not the same scorer in Phoenix that he was early in his career, but he didn't need to be alongside Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire.

"I'm just glad I was able to keep working," Hill said of his injuries. "When doctors told me I was done, I was able to get another 10 years. I'm very grateful for that."

In 2008-09, Hill averaged 12.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists and played in all 82 games for the first and only time in his career. Hill never played in the NBA Finals but reached the Western Conference finals with the Suns in 2009-10. He had never been on a team that won a playoff series until that season.

Under the care of Phoenix's renowned medical staff, Hill played in 243 of 246 games from 2008-09 through 2010-11. He signed a two-year deal with the Clippers during free agency last July but a bruised right knee delayed his season debut until Jan.12. Hill played in 29 games for the Clippers this season and averaged 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds.

He ends his career 81st on the NBA's all-time scoring list (17,137) and 79th in assists (4,252).

If there were just a pro basketball hall of fame, Hill might be a borderline selection. But combine his NBA career, a 1996 Olympic gold medal and two NCAA championships during an All-America career at Duke in the early 1990s, and Hill is a likely choice for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.