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Former NBA champion Bogut announces retirement

Former Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut has retired from professional basketball.

Bogut, 36, left the Sydney Kings in May and had hoped to play for Australia at the Tokyo Olympics, which have been pushed back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But the veteran, who was the top pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and won a championship with the Warriors in 2015, has decided to end his career.

"The decision that I made and where I will be signing for next season is absolutely nowhere. I'll be retiring from professional basketball, effective immediately," he said on his podcast, Rogue Bogues, on Tuesday.

"We're in late November, early December, I would've made this decision earlier if it wasn't for the postponement of the Olympics. I was hoping to get to 2020 Tokyo Games and then calling it a day after that, that would've been my fourth Olympics and selfishly obviously it would've been a great accolade to have four Olympic Games under your belt, but it's just not meant to be.

"I just can't physically and mentally get to 2021 with the way the body's been. I could, on a lot of painkillers and a lot of physical and mental anguish, but it's just not worth it at this point of my career.

"I'm really starting to value my health away from the court and my health when I'm 40 and 45 and 50. Some people might say it's just seven more months of training and commitments and I'm at a point where I just can't do it."

Drafted by the Bucks in 2005, Bogut spent seven seasons in Milwaukee before joining the Warriors in 2012.

Bogut helped the Warriors end a 40-year wait for an NBA championship with their success in 2015.

Spells with the Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers followed before Bogut signed with the Kings and was named the 2019 NBL MVP, while he also had another stint with the Warriors.

He finished his NBA career averaging 9.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 706 regular-season appearances.