Washington, September 14: Former Golden State Warriors player Shaun Livingston has announced his retirement from the NBA. "After 15 years in the NBA, I'm excited, sad, fortunate and grateful all in one breath. Hard to put into a caption all of the emotions it takes to try and accomplish your dreams. I wasn't supposed to be here. Anybody that has beat the odds understands the mental and emotional strain it takes to inspire yourself on an uphill war," Livingston said in a post on Instagram on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The injury gave me a chance to find and prove to myself and the world that I wouldn't be defined by my circumstances. With my time in the League what I will be most proud of is the fact that my character, values and faith were tested, and I persevered," he added. Livingston, who spent the last five seasons with Golden State and won three championships with the team, played 15 seasons in the NBA after being the No. 4 overall pick of the 2004 draft by the LA Clippers.

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After 15 years in the NBA, I’m excited, sad, fortunate and grateful all in one breath. Hard to put into a caption all of the emotions it takes to try and accomplish your dreams. I wasn’t supposed to be here. Anybody that has beat the odds understands the mental and emotional strain it takes to inspire yourself on an uphill war, let alone inspire others. “The injury” gave me a chance to find and prove to myself (and the world) that I wouldn’t be defined by my circumstances. With my time in the League what I will be most proud of is the fact that my character, values and faith were tested, and I persevered. To my pops that told me to “go get the big ball” I THANK YOU. To my Grandpa that always showed me there was more to life than basketball I THANK YOU. To my Uncles that helped raise me like I was one of their own, THANK YOU. To my wife and kids...the future IS BRIGHTER than our past, and I couldn’t see myself taking on this chapter without you. To all of my teammates, coaches, TRAINERS, staff, my journey is a collection of experiences, and those of you that helped me along the way, THANK YOU! To all the fans and anybody else that inspired me, supported me, cheered for me, or even said good words about me, THANK YOU. “The greatest gift we can give is service to others” #Raiseaglass 🍷

A post shared by Shaun Livingston (@sdot1414) on

His career was marked by his valuable backup role with the Warriors as well as a gruesome knee injury he suffered in the 2006-07 season against the Charlotte Hornets. It took Livingston nearly two years to return to an NBA court, but since then, he became a valuable backup guard, spending time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers before signing with Golden State in the summer of 2014. He was waived by the Warriors in early July.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 14, 2019 09:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).