Iman Shumpert (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
NBA champion Iman Shumpert wants to make it clear – he's not retired.
The 34-year-old shooting guard hasn't played in an NBA game since the 2020-21 season when he appeared in two games with the Brooklyn Nets as part of a 10-day contract. While Shumpert has since become involved in the entertainment world – he's hosting a new ESPN+ series called "Taking One For The Team" that will premiere on Oct. 16 – he's never officially retired and he's open to playing again if it's the right opportunity.
"100%," Shumpert says in a one-on-one interview with RG when asked if he would play again. "People ask me, 'Are you retired?' I don't think I'll ever say I'm done playing. I think if somebody said, 'Hey man, I just need you to come sit here and work out with the guys.' If everything made sense and I liked what I had to do, I wouldn't mind doing it. I don't think I'll ever go on a podium and say, 'I'm retiring from basketball.'"
While Shumpert leaves the door open on playing in the NBA again, he stresses that he doesn't want to do another 10-day, two-way contract. If it's not the right situation, Shumpert is content with playing basketball on his own time – and even mentions the possibility of Ice Cube's Big3 League, which is known for its 3-on-3 basketball.
"I don't think I can do the whole 10-day, two-way contract," says Shumpert. "I have two kids – I don't need to do all that. If somebody needs me to come do what they know I can do. And it's something where I'm going to go there, I'm going to be in weight training, I'm going to be on the team and we're trying to win something, that's totally cool. If not, I'll stay out of everybody's way and do my podcast and play basketball when I feel like it.
I'll see everybody at Drew League and the rest of the Pro Am League. Maybe I'll start playing the net in the Big 3 [league]. But I don't think I'll ever get on a podium and say I'm retired."
Shumpert had a long career in the NBA, playing a total of 10 seasons after the New York Knicks made him a first-round draft pick in 2011. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard spent his first four seasons with the Knicks, where he made a name for himself as a solid perimeter defender – he was named an All-Rookie First Team selection – with the ability to shoot from beyond the arc.
However, he's best known for his four-season stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was a key member of the team that defeated the 73-win Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. Shumpert helped lead the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 series deficit – the only time in Finals history – to defeat the record-breaking Warriors.
Shumpert's most notable teammate from that squad, LeBron James, continues to play nearly a decade later. Despite being 39 and entering his 22nd season, James shows no signs of slowing down. The NBA's all-time leading scorer averaged 25.7 points per game this past season while shooting a career-high 41.0% from beyond the arc and playing in 71 games – his highest since the 2017-18 season.
The former Cavaliers guard believes James will end his career with the Lakers and that he could see the four-time MVP playing three more years.
"I'd say three," says Shumpert when asked how many more years James will play. "I'll say this – he's capable of three. I want to say after Year 2 with his son [Bronny], I want to say he puts it down. If he gives us one more after that, cool. I think he's going to let Bronny get through Year 1 and 2 and then it's like, 'Yeah, he's got it.' If Bronny comes out here and just kills in his first year and just goes crazy? I think 'Bron would put it down after this year."
While there was a lot of controversy surrounding the Lakers picking LeBron's son, Bronny, in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft — he only averaged 4.8 points per game while converting on 36.6% of his field goal attempts during his lone season with the USC Trojans — Shumpert fully supports the Lakers' decision to draft LeBron's son.
"It's smart," says Shumpert of the Lakers' decision to draft Bronny. "The boy can play basketball, he can play with his weapons. There's a lot of people — you can put five guys on paper — but it's not going to look good in the game. You put five guys on paper — we do it all the time — when they stack up, they trade, they do all that and then they get blown out by 30 in the first round. We don't have time for that. Bronny is not that type of player."
Shumpert actually compares Bronny to former Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, who is well-known for his ability to get others involved and averaged 7.2 assists per game during his rookie season.
Bronny struggled during Summer League, averaging just 8.8 points per game despite averaging the second-highest minutes per contest of any Lakers player at 25.1 minutes per contest. He also struggled with his efficiency, converting on just 35.0% of his shots and 15.8% from beyond the arc. However, Shumpert argues that most rookies go through those struggles in their first few games.
"Because of where he grew up in that household — and I'm sure they watch a ton of tape – but I just watched the kid play this summer. I watched him play and all I could think was, if anybody else was making these mistakes, it's all part of being a rookie," says Shumpert of Bronny's struggles. "You're all doing this because he's LeBron's kid and he's supposed to be perfect — but he's not. Once we all get over that and we accept that his career is going to be a good career – whether anybody likes it or not — he's going to be a good professional."
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