In 2019, after 15 years in the league, Shaun Livingston, who celebrates his birthday today, retired from the NBA.
15 years is an extremely long NBA career, even more so when considering the insane roller coaster ride the three-time NBA Champion, who’s always been a role model to look up to, had to live through as a pro.
There was a path to stardom and success paved with potential for Livingston. Selected fourth overall in the NBA draft, the former Illinois Mr. Basketball had a bright future awaiting him. Unfortunately, his professional basketball career got off to a slow start. Finally, just as he began to find his groove and was well on his way toward a career year, things took a turn for the worse. This is when the story truly begins.
Livingston’s journey started on February 26, 2007. On that fateful day, while attempting a layup, the Los Angeles Clippers point guard landed awkwardly, snapping his knee in two. In the emergency room that night, his leg was so mangled that he faced the threat of amputation. A gruesome injury, doctors informed Livingston that he would require months of rehab before being able to walk again.
But doctors didn’t know about one of Livingston’s key features: his resiliency. He trained with discipline, utilized experimental technology in his recovery. Eventually, Shaun Livingston returned to the NBA in late 2008, roughly twenty months post knee injury.
Upon his return, Livingston’s career was not the same, which is to be expected. A former ‘young player on the rise,’ he became the ‘what if’ type of player. Over the next seven seasons, Livingston was a journeyman on a quest, during which he played for eight different teams.
Ultimately, this quest led Livingston to the Bay Area, where he has experienced an exciting resurgency. Shaun Livingston quietly played behind superstar Stephen Curry, not receiving the accolades or reaching the greatness he was once destined for.
But after finding his role, Livingston, whose career was in jeopardy while recovering from the worst basketball injury ever, he became a three-time NBA champion.
