Friday morning, Shaun Livingston took to Instagram to post a heartfelt message to Dub Nation and the world: “To all the fans and anybody else that inspired me, supported me, cheered for me, or even said good words about me, THANK YOU,” he wrote in the post.
“Shaun Livingston’s story is one of the most inspirational in the history of professional sports,” said Warriors President of Basketball Operations / General Manager Bob Myers. “What he accomplished after suffering so many trials and tribulations early in his career is a true testament to who he is as a person, which has always been characterized by tremendous class, grace and professionalism. He represents everything that you’d want in a professional athlete and, most importantly, in a human being. We appreciate what he did for our team and organization over the last five years, becoming a three-time NBA champion and a key figure on one of the best teams in NBA history. We wish him well as he begins the next phase in his life.”
Stephen Curry spoke highly of Livingston’s career and ability to overcome challenges as well: “Very unique journey to get to where he’s at, and how hard he had to work to get there. And patience that it took to get there: I’m sure his story speaks volumes to guys that are trying to find their way in the league, to know that if you’re patient and just grind, hopefully it’ll work out.”
Livingston spent five seasons with the Warriors, helping the franchise to five consecutive NBA Finals appearances and three NBA championships (2015, 2017, 2018) in that span. He is just the second player in NBA history to complete a tenure of at least five seasons with a team that made an NBA Finals appearance in each of those seasons, joining Tom Heinsohn, who did so in all nine of his seasons with the Boston Celtics from 1956-57 to 1964-65.
Signed by the Warriors as a free agent on July 11, 2014, Livingston would appear in 367 regular season games with the squad and average 5.4 points, 2.4 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 17.5 minutes. He appeared in an additional 102 postseason games, fifth-most in franchise history.
Originally selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the fourth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Livingston owns career averages of 6.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 20.6 minutes in 833 games (191 starts) over 14 NBA seasons with the Clippers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn Nets and the Warriors.
Head Coach Steve Kerr echoed the positive sentiments about Livingston’s character: “Every team needs a mentoring system, and it has to be organic. Shaun, he’s been fantastic both on and off the court for us.”
Outside of the team, Livingston has been an active member in the Warriors organization, volunteering as a coach for the Warriors Overnight Camps. His commitment to the local community is a reciprocation of the love he has received from the Bay Area since joining the Warriors.
“Dub Nation’s been everything to me and my family. The way that they’ve embraced me, the way the Bay Area has embraced me… I wanted send a big shout-out to all you guys out there for all the support.”
“Dub Nation will always be home.”
Though Livingston may be hanging up his kicks, he is in no way done with the basketball or the league: “I’ve thought about possibly being in the front office, being on the management side of things, like a GM one day. I could also work as a coach down the line — way down the line. ”
“But I definitely want to stick around the game. The NBA is kinda where I’ve grown up… it’s done a lot for me, and I feel like I have so much more to give,” said Livingston.