By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
EuroLeague veteran guard Billy Baron announced his retirement from basketball on social media.
Unfortunately, this past year I dealt with the ugly side of the game,” Baron wrote in a statement, explaining the reasons that led to his retirement decision. The American player has been struggling with injury issues over the last couple of years. “It’s been an experience that I don’t wish upon anyone. After HSS in NYC was able to clean up the mess I was left in, I battled to come back better than before. Inside I felt like I had several good years left in me, but I quickly found out that wouldn’t be the case. It’s not the way I imagined things ending. As I sit here writing this, I’m frustrated with the scars I’ve been left with, but I’m extremely grateful to have made it this far.
From my driveway in Olean, NY, to Shanghai and all 35 countries in between, it’s been a hell of a ride,” Baron also wrote. He thanked the teams he played for, his agent Misko Raznatovic and his family.
Baron spent his entire professional career from Europe, starting in 2014 with Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania and finishing last season at Italian powerhouse Olimpia Milano. Over the years, he won several titles, including the ABA League, Italian League, Serbian League and VTB League championships.
He was the ABA League and Serbian League Finals MVP in 2019, during a highly memorable stint he had with Crvena Zvezda from 2018 to 2020.
In the EuroLeague, Baron played five seasns wtih Zvezda, Zenit St. Petersburg and Olimpia Milano. He was widely regarded as one of the top 3-point shooters in the competition, finishing with 250 career 3-pointers on 40.2 percent.