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Shaun Livingston odhaja v pokoj

Avtor: Antun Katalenic
Rubrika: Liga NBA

Po 15 letih in že pri 34 letih se Shaun Livingston poslavlja od profesionalnega igranja košarke. Organizator igre, ki je nazadnje igral pri Golden State Warriorsih se od lige NBA poslavlja s tremi prstani, ki jih je osvojil na Zahodni obali v dresu Bojevnikov.

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After 15 years in the NBA, I’m excited, sad, fortunate and grateful all in one breath. Hard to put into a caption all of the emotions it takes to try and accomplish your dreams. I wasn’t supposed to be here. Anybody that has beat the odds understands the mental and emotional strain it takes to inspire yourself on an uphill war, let alone inspire others. “The injury” gave me a chance to find and prove to myself (and the world) that I wouldn’t be defined by my circumstances. With my time in the League what I will be most proud of is the fact that my character, values and faith were tested, and I persevered. To my pops that told me to “go get the big ball” I THANK YOU. To my Grandpa that always showed me there was more to life than basketball I THANK YOU. To my Uncles that helped raise me like I was one of their own, THANK YOU. To my wife and kids…the future IS BRIGHTER than our past, and I couldn’t see myself taking on this chapter without you. To all of my teammates, coaches, TRAINERS, staff, my journey is a collection of experiences, and those of you that helped me along the way, THANK YOU! To all the fans and anybody else that inspired me, supported me, cheered for me, or even said good words about me, THANK YOU. “The greatest gift we can give is service to others” #Raiseaglass 🍷

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Livingstonova zgodba v NBA-ju se je pričela obetavno, ko so ga kot četrtega na naboru leta 2004 izbrali Los Angeles Clippersi. Uvodna leta Livingston sicer ni preveč navdušil, pri razvoju pa mi ni niti pomagalo, da je igral za pregovorno eno slabših ekip, ki jo je vodil eden bolj skopih lastnikov Donald Sterling.

Razvoj mladega branilca se je nato nenadno ustavil 26. februarja 2007, ko je Livingston ukradel žogo in ob poskusu polaganja zelo grdo pristal na levo nogo ter pri tem utrpel eno hujših poškodb v zgodovini ligi NBA zaradi katere več mesecev sploh ni mogel hoditi. Po vrnitvi na parket so si moštva pet let podajala Livingstona in zdelo se je, da se njegova kariera bliža koncu, a je nato doživel renesanso v Brooklynu, od koder je nato odšel v Oakland, kjer je s svojimi izkušnjami odigral pomembno vlogo pri izgradnji dinastije Warriorsov. , S.Dot, srečno na nadaljnji poti!