Kyle Korver is 38 years old. There’s many infamous photos of him early in his career in the NBA, hanging out in giant, baggy pants that seem ridiculous for him today. The guy has been in the league since 2003, but he still is able to compete at a high level.
Now, after a season in which the Utah Jazz were bounced in the first round by the Houston Rockets, Korver is considering retiring.
In recent interview with Ryan McDonald of the Deseret News, Korver said there are several costs in consideration that he has to levy against playing basketball.
Via Deseret News:“There’s a real cost as you get older,” he said of playing professional basketball. “There’s what you need to put into the game, but there’s also a family cost. That’s probably where I’m at is weighing that cost.”
Korver said that, “I think I still love playing basketball,” but it’s been a “long few years” for him with the unexpected 2018 passing of his brother Kirk, the fact he has young children, multiple trades and heartbreak coming up short of a championship in the NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Each year we go through these rounds with veteran NBA players, and it’s hard to predict which way any of them will go. At nearly 40 years old, Korver is creeping up in age and it just doesn’t seem necessary for him to continue if he can’t fully commit his heart to it. And honestly, who could blame him?
Retirement or not, Korver will go down as one of the NBA’s all-time great shooters.