Thank You, Shaun Livingston

On February 27, 2007, Shaun Livingston, then of the Los Angeles Clippers, wasn’t sure he would ever be able to walk again. He wasn’t even sure if he would have both of his legs for much longer. A gruesome injury in a game against Charlotte the day before had seriously injured nearly every muscle, ligament and bone in his left knee. Doctors wondered if the best solution was just to amputate the leg.

Roughly 12 and a half years later, Livingston is retiring as a Warrior and a three-time NBA champion. It’s the conclusion of one of the most remarkable comeback stories in basketball history.

When faced with the news that his career might be over in just his third season in the league, he stared down the diagnoses and predictions and decided to make them wrong. He embarked on a rehabilitation process that lasted well over a year until he was finally cleared to return to basketball in 2008. From there he traveled on a lengthy journey that took him all around the league. He started with the Miami Heat and went from there. He had two stints with the Washington Wizards and spent a season or less each in Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Brooklyn. He even spent some time in what was then called the NBA D-League. He was traded and waived repeatedly. In spite of all of that, he kept going, simply refusing to give up the game he loved.

The 2013-2014 season in Brooklyn proved to be Livingston’s turning point. He became a part of the Nets on both sides of the ball and proved he could be a season-long contributor. He entered free agency at the end of the season and signed a three-year deal with the Warriors. His career will most be remembered for the subsequent five seasons.

As the Warriors won games at a level unprecedented in franchise history, Livingston was right in the middle of the action. He came off the bench and provided his signature mid-range jumpers on offense and proved to be a capable wing defender who could guard multiple positions. He also became a team leader, serving as one of the commanders of the second unit along with Andre Iguodala. He became a voice in the locker room whom the other players respected. He proved vital to the team’s chemistry, one of the driving forces behind the magical championship run of 2015.

The following four seasons saw Livingston provide much of the same. As one NBA Finals run passed and another one came, pieces within the organization were regularly changing. Not many constants emerged among the role players, but Livingston was one of them. He could always be counted on to provide relief for Stephen Curry, make smart decisions with the ball and serve as a calming force. Now that he is retiring, all of that will be sorely missed.

Shaun Livingston will be remembered for a number of reasons. He’s the only person to play on all five Warriors Finals teams and nothing but the five Finals teams during his time in Golden State. That will make for a great trivia question a few years from now. He’ll be remembered for putting up 18 points and a +16 rating in Game 1 of the 2015 Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets, helping to turn the tide of the game and the series. He’ll be remembered for making so many important shots in big games against the league’s best teams. He’ll be remembered for the way he always made direct eye contact with his teammates when talking to them, which helped enforce his role as a leader. He’ll be remembered for lifting those three trophies as all the memories of where he had been and how far he had come undoubtedly came flooding back. But perhaps most of all, he’ll be remembered as a great person whose personality and story arc connected deeply with the fanbase.

I was never lucky enough to meet him, but various members of my family have a total of three times. Each time, although he probably didn’t want to be bothered, he was classy and came off as an incredibly nice human being. I will always appreciate him for that.

On September 13, when he announced his retirement, I tweeted my appreciation of him. My tweet read, in its entirety, “Only one thing to say: thank you, @ShaunLivingston.” It was simple, straightforward and to the point. However, now that I have more characters to work with, I’d like to expand on what I meant by that.

Thank you, Shaun Livingston, for being a part of some of the greatest Warrior teams of all time.

Thank you, Shaun Livingston, for helping the Warriors end their time in Oakland on a series of high notes.

Thank you, Shaun Livingston, for being the ultimate professional and winning with grace and class.

Thank you, Shaun Livingston, for doing the right things on the court and being the calm amidst the storm when everything in the organization was going crazy.

Thank you, Shaun Livingston, for reminding everybody to never give up and for showing what can happen when you decide you want to beat the odds.

Thank you, Shaun Livingston.