This past Monday, Brandon Roy had his seventh knee surgery. Seventh! At only 28 years old, Roy may be staring down the obvious choice of calling it a career for good this time. Earlier today, B-Roy spoke candidly with The Oregonian about his reoccurring knee problems and how they will effect his near future in the NBA.
Not just one doctor, but multiple doctors have told Roy that he should stop playing basketball. His knees are getting worse by the day. By now, at 28, he has had so many surgeries, so many treatments and seen so many doctors, he sounds like a specialist. He explains that he has degenerative arthritis, which erodes and eventually eliminates cartilage, with the same precision and ease that came to define his run of three consecutive All-Star appearances. And with the calm that made him one of the game’s best finishers, he explains that his knees have reached Level III arthritis. There are only four stages.
While hanging up the sneakers for a second time would be tough on most players, Roy is viewing the possibility in a different light
“When I was 40, would I look back and say ‘You quit because you couldn’t be the best player anymore?’ I didn’t want to get older and regret that,” Roy said. “And the biggest thing I thought about was my kids. I’m going to want to hold them accountable one day, and I don’t want them to say, ‘Well, dad, you stopped playing just because of this… ‘ I want to say, no, I gave it an honest shot. And that’s the reason I felt I had to do this.”
Judging from the quotes, it seems as though Roy has accepted retirement as a viable option at the end of this season or even sooner. With something as important as his knees and ability to walk hanging in the balance, it's important that B-Roy thinks about his future over how he will be remembered on the court. But rest assured, we will always have these incredible moments.
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[via The Oregonian]
