Detroit F Ben Wallace to retire after 2012 season

Published: 13th Feb 12 3:14 pm
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by Kris Hughes
Network Manager
Detroit F Ben Wallace to retire after 2012 season
Brace Hemmelgarn- US PRESSWIRE

It was rumored in recent weeks that Detroit Pistons forward Ben Wallace may step away from professional basketball.

Today, it was made official.

According to this Associated Press report, Wallace plans to hang up his sneakers after the 2012 Pistons season to spend more time with his family and focus on interests away from the game.

At 37, Wallace is in the midst of his 16th season in the NBA, and you have to figure the physical grind and style of play which became his trademark in the early 2000s has taken its toll.

At averages of 1.0 point per game, and only 3.4 rebounds per game in around 14.2 minutes per contest, Big Ben’s production has dropped, and minutes that were once his belong to newcomer Greg Monroe and Swedish import Jonas Jerebko.

If indeed Wallace does step aside from the game after 2012, he will leave a legacy as one of the NBA’s grittiest big men, and will enter the record books by playing more consecutive games than any other undrafted free agent in NBA history.

Big Ben was once a presence and his legacy will always remain.

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