Former Chicago Bulls shooting guard Richard Hamilton. (Photo : Getty Images)
Ray Allen and Stephen Jackson are evidently not the only "retired" veterans that are rumored to be trying to return to the NBA next season. Add former Detroit Pistons shooting guard Richard Hamilton to that list as the three-time All-Star is reportedly training to prepare himself for an NBA comeback.
The 38-year-old former Connecticut standout is said to be hitting the gym and running a few miles a day to try and get back to his playing shape after walking away from professional basketball two years ago.
Hamilton, a key part of the Pistons' NBA title-winning team in 2004 that battled in the Eastern Conference finals for six straight years from 2003 to 2008, last suited up for the Chicago Bulls during the 2012-2013 season. He averaged 9.8 points (the lowest in his career since his rookie year), 1.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 21.8 minutes per game (also the lowest since his rookie season) during that last year in Chicago where he played for two seasons.
The seventh overall pick in the 1999 draft spent the bulk of his career with the Pistons, though, where he experienced much success in a lineup composed of Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace, four-time All-Star Rasheed Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince.
"I'm giving myself 30 days where I am really hitting the gym," said Hamilton, as per USA Today. "I'm working on my game. I'm in the weight room. I'm running my two, three miles a day. And I'm trying to see if my body can hold up. If my body can hold up after these 30 days, I will be making a comeback."
The Pistons' all-time leading scorer in the postseason also admitted that his planned return is about his family more than it is about earning millions again or trying to win another championship, although those were definitely considered.
"I'm actually doing it for (my kids) and for myself, too, to get an opportunity to make one more run at it. And if there's an opportunity where I could go out and win another championship, I'm all for it," he said.
CBS Sports acknowledged that during his prime, Hamilton "was one of the best shooting guards in the league, able to slice through the lane and run off screens to knock down jumpers".
He averaged a career-high 20.1 points during the 2005-2006 season with also career-highs in field goal and three-point shooting percentages with 49.1 percent and 45.8 percent respectively.
During his last year in the league with the Bulls, he shot 42.9 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc.
