It is a decision taken a few months by his own admission. It is on the set of NBA Extra, at our colleagues from BeIN Sports, that Ian Mahinmi (34) declared officially retiring.
The French interior had not played this season, after the end of his adventure with Washington in 2020, in the “bubble”. He then made the second best copy of his career with 7.4 points average and played his last game on the NBA floors on February 28, 2020.
Player of duty off the bench, trained at Le Havre and Pau-Orthez, Ian Mahinmi began his career in San Antonio in 2007, where an ankle injury plagued his entire second year in 2008/09. Very little used the following year, the Norman of Beninese origin joined Dallas in 2010, where he had more playing time.
Champion NBA 2011
In his first season with the Mavericks, with his compatriot Rodrigue Beaubois, he won the title against the Heat. He will have walked the floor of the Finals for 27 minutes in total.
After these two new seasons in Texas, he will go for four years to Indiana, to find LeBron James and Miami in the conference final with Paul George in 2013 and 2014. Then, in 2015/16, still with the Pacers, he started and has his best year individually with 9.3 points and 7.1 rebounds on average.
Thanks to its services and the explosion of the “salary cap”, the interior signs in the wake of a big contract with the Wizards (64 million dollars over four years). The French find a replacement role, who plays his fifteen minutes per game. He ended his career after 13 seasons, 618 games played and 67 in the playoffs for an average of 5.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Invested with NBA Africa
Now, his future lies with NBA Africa since he also announced, on the sidelines of his retirement, that he was part of a group of investors who own around 10%. Without forgetting his camps, always with the will to give back what we have given him. Here is what he told us two years ago.
« I think it’s bigger than just playing basketball. There, we reach young people who can potentially remember it all their lives. For me it is very important. You can forget the defeat, you can forget the fact of not having entered the floor… If I give pleasure to people then I am very happy. I want to give back to people. I too, when I was young, had dreams. Being able to have an impact on young people is like we say here a “blessing”. I have the opportunity to be able to help, to have an impact on the youth and I do so with great pleasure. »
???? #NBAExtra
???? Ian Mahinmi announces on the set that he is retiring!
???????????? Bravo for his great career! pic.twitter.com/5FGYE1TJHJ— NBAextra (@NBAextra) July 6, 2021
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