Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five players whose NBA careers ended abruptly.

Not all NBA players get to ride off into the sunset with the fanfare of a grand farewell tour. In fact, there have been perennial All-Stars and all-time greats who ended their NBA careers in rather unceremonious fashion. Of course, in many cases, age and injuries were still a factor. As such, while they may have deserved a better, more respectful send-off, they’d still enjoyed fairly long careers, and were now at a point where they couldn’t quite go anymore. At the very least, it’s not as puzzling as when a younger, healthier player is seemingly pushed out of the league well before their time.

Obviously, controversy is sometimes a factor. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf – an outstanding shooter who would thrive in today’s NBA – was effectively blackballed for his socio-political beliefs and demonstrations. Michael Ray Richardson declined to return to the NBA after his lifetime ban for substance abuse was lifted, maintaining that he’d been treated unfairly considering the leniency shown to players such as Chris Mullin. The five players I’m covering in this article may not have seen their NBA careers ended abruptly by controversies such as those, but they nevertheless went from mainstays in the league to outsiders in a blink; even as they remained both healthy and capable.

1. Hassan Whiteside

I don’t want to say that he was a “sensation” – it would be a bit sensationalist, after all – but Hassan Whiteside definitely enjoyed a short stint in the spotlight. After being drafted 33rd overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2010 and appearing in only 19 games – just one in his rookie season – Whiteside spent the next couple of years playing in the D-League and overseas. After the Miami Heat signed him in November 2014, he began posting some impressive numbers, even tallying his first career triple-double that included a franchise-record 12 blocks. That performance led him to infamously joke in a post-game interview that he was just trying to get his ratings up in NBA 2K.

Whiteside’s ratings would indeed jump in official roster updates and future games, as he became a double-double machine and intimidating defensive force in the paint, leading the NBA in rebounds once and in blocks twice, while shooting well over 50% from the field. However, after returning to the Kings for the 2021 season, Whiteside was back on the bench, and then out of the league in 2022 following a season in Utah. One might suggest he was a victim of the league moving away from “traditional” big men, but he’d had a fine season in 2020 with the Trail Blazers and was still relatively young and healthy. As such, the abrupt end to his NBA career was rather surprising.

2. Roy Hibbert

Speaking of men in the middle who fit the more traditional role of the position, Roy Hibbert abruptly went from two-time All-Star and regular starter to his NBA career ending in 2017 at the age of 30. As with Whiteside, the claim is that his style of play and lack of three-point shooting simply doesn’t fit in today’s “evolved” NBA. Back in 2018 when he announced his retirement, that was certainly the conclusion that was drawn. I’m not saying there isn’t any merit to that, as he definitely wasn’t one of the most fleet-footed or all-around centres (or players in general) at that point. However, the notion that traditional bigs are now completely outmoded is frankly overblown.

In addition to Hassan Whiteside remaining effective in that role right up until 2020, Mitchell Robinson has given the New York Knicks effective minutes since he entered the league the year Hibbert retired. DeAndre Jordan is still seeing playing time in his mid 30s, providing Nikola Jokic with a chance to rest every now and again. Ivaca Zubac, Alperen Sengun, Jarrett Allen, Clint Capela, and of course Rudy Gobert…the list goes on! Perhaps Roy Hibbert was done despite his skillset remaining relevant, or perhaps teams misjudged his value as the league fell in love with the three. Whatever the case, the idea that he simply couldn’t play in the NBA today is frankly nonsense.

3. Kenny Smith

A standout amateur player who had hops and range on his jumper, there’s no doubt that long-time NBA analyst and key member of two Houston Rockets titles Kenny Smith could not only play in today’s league, but would likely excel. However, some twenty years before Roy Hibbert’s NBA career abruptly ended, The Jet was taxiing in for a landing in the booth much sooner than he had perhaps anticipated. Although he was still the Rockets’ starting point guard in 1996, he was losing playing time to the younger Sam Cassell. Despite Cassell being dealt to Phoenix in the trade that brought Charles Barkley to Houston, Smith nevertheless moved on, signing with the Pistons.

The Jet’s time in Detroit proved to be a brief and uneventful layover. He played very sparingly in just nine games before being cut, joined the Orlando Magic for a month before they waived him, and following an initial 10-day contract, finished the season with the Denver Nuggets as their backup at the point. Smith was on the New Jersey Nets’ roster during their 1997 training camp, but failed to make the cut, leading to his retirement at the age of 32. It was a surprisingly quick decline and abrupt end for a talented veteran who likely still had a few solid years left. TV has proven to be his calling, though the less said about his (in)ability to judge dunk contests, the better!

4. Josh Smith

From a Smith who could shoot but never won a dunk contest (and shouldn’t judge them), to a Smith who won the once-premiere event of All-Star Saturday Night but didn’t have as reliable of a jumpshot as he believed, the man nicknamed J-Smoove also belongs on the list of players whose NBA careers ended abruptly. As one of the last players to enter the league out of high school, Smith was still only 27 in his ninth NBA season. Unfortunately, it was becoming apparent that he wasn’t going to develop beyond being a solid player and borderline All-Star. He left the Atlanta Hawks for the Detroit Pistons in 2013, but was then traded to the Houston Rockets a season later.

Smith came off the bench in Houston, posting the lowest numbers since his second season. He signed with the Clippers in the offseason, but then landed back in Houston in a January 2016 trade. Following an unremarkable season as a reserve, he took a cue from other NBA players whose careers had faltered or ended abruptly, and took his talents to China. The New Orleans Pelicans gave him a shot early on in the 2018 season, but it amounted to garbage time in three games before being released. I would agree that Josh Smith’s shaky jumpshot did cost him a spot in the league, but at his age and price, it may well have happened even without the “three-point revolution”.

5. Deron Williams

Can you believe there was a time when Deron Williams vs. Chris Paul was an actual debate? Admittedly it was very early on in their careers, before CP3 emerged as the superior pro player. Nevertheless, there was undoubtedly hype for D-Will when the Utah Jazz drafted him ahead of Paul in 2005. Williams did have a fine career in his own right, though the rift with Jerry Sloan that led to the coach’s retirement and Deron being dealt to the Nets is definitely a blemish on it. With that being said, he did have some solid years in New Jersey and Brooklyn as he entered his thirties. He was also a reliable veteran playmaker for the Mavericks until they waived him in February 2017.

This allowed him to latch on with the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers, who were gearing up for a rematch with the Golden State Warriors, now featuring Kevin Durant. He accepted a role as Kyrie Irving’s backup, playing limited minutes in all 18 of the Cavs’ Playoff games as they eventually fell to the Warriors. Surprisingly, this abruptly ended D-Will’s NBA career, though he’d later explain that he hadn’t been in a good place mentally since the Brooklyn Nets superteam experiment had failed. Ankle injuries had also taken their toll, and after stepping away from the NBA for a few years, D-Will decided that he’d been out of the game too long to make a comeback.

Do you recall these players and the abrupt end to their NBA careers? What’s your take on the league seemingly being done with them and several other players before their time? Have your say in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.