Former Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets power forward, Paul Millsap, has officially retired. He informed ESPN on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024. During his 16 seasons in the Association, Millsap carved out a nice career for himself. He made his name known with the Atlanta Hawks as he was a staple for some of their best seasons in the 2010’s including the 60-win Hawks squad in 2014-15. Millsap made four All-Star appearances and the All-Defensive Team in the 2015-16 campaign. He also served as a solid mentor for the Denver Nuggets and helped mold Nikola Jokic into the superstar that he is today. While Paul Millsap is not a household name from the 2010’s era like DeMarcus Cousins, Carmelo Anthony, or Marc Gasol, he will still go down as one of the more underappreciated All-Stars in NBA history.
Paul Millsap Officially Retires From NBA
His Underrated Career
Millsap put up respectable numbers throughout his 16 years in the league. For his career, he averaged 13.4 points, 7.1 total rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game. Millsap also finished with a career true shooting percentage of 55.9 percent to go along with a career defensive rating of 104. Arguably, the best season of his career was the 2015-16 season when he finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year votes. During said year, Millsap tallied 17.1 points on 47.0 percent shooting from the field, 3.3 assists, 9.0 total rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. He also finished that year with a career-best defensive rating of 96 and a league-best defensive win-share total of 6.0. As one can see, Paul Millsap was one of the better defenders of his era. His impact on the NBA will certainly be missed going forward.
Notable Accomplishments for Paul Millsap
At age 39, Paul Millsap is only one of eight players in league history to hit 500 three-point shots along with recording 1,000 steals and 1,000 blocked shots. He and Golden State Warriors power forward, Draymond Green, are also the only players in NBA history to log 300 three-point shots made on top of 300 blocks from 2013 to 2017. During Millsap’s entire stint with the Atlanta Hawks, he was an All-Star each season.
An impressive feat considering the 2010’s had some of the best frontcourt players in recent memory. Millsap eventually transitioned into a veteran mentor for the young Denver Nuggets at the time and helped turn the franchise around. Despite not being a part of the Nuggets squad that won the title in 2023, one can argue he laid the foundation for Nikola Jokic and company. Considering all of this, Paul Millsap should be proud of the NBA career he produced across 16 seasons.
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