Amar’e Stoudemire retired from the NBA in 2016, after playing 14 seasons in the league. He had a respectable career, winning NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003, being named All-NBA First Team in 2007, and receiving six NBA All-Star selections. But Stoudemire thinks he could do more, and is thinking about coming out of retirement and give it another go in NBA at age 35. Former Phoenix Suns star confirmed his intentions during an interview with CBS Sports’ Bill Reiter.
“I am. I am. I’m definitely planning on (coming back),” – said Stoudemire. “I’ve been training like you wouldn’t believe, my body feels great. I had an amazing year last year playing overseas and so I’m gonna definitely continue to work my way back to top shape and see if there’s a team that needs my talents.“
After leaving the NBA, Amar’e Stoudemire spent 2016-17 season playing in Israel, where he won Israeli League championship with Hapoel Jerusalem. He then announced his retirement from basketball in September 2017. Still, Stoudemire couldn’t keep himself out of basketball for long and decided to play BIG3 league in the summer, to keep himself in shape before trying to return to NBA.
“I figured it’d be a good opportunity for me to somewhat keep in shape,“- he said. “After playing last year in Israel — winning the championship there — I wanted to keep myself in shape, so playing in the BIG3 allows me to keep myself in top shape and gets me prepared for the next step.“
During the time he spent in NBA, Amar’e Stoudemire played for Suns, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, and Miami Heat. Although there will be limited interest for Stoudemire’s services among NBA teams due to his history of knee injuries, there might be several teams who could give him a chance to prove himself during preseason training camps.
