It wasn’t all over ESPN and the casual NBA fan probably missed the news on the ole’ ticker last week, but Adonal Foyle retired from the game of basketball. It’s not much of a surprise, he’s only played in 10 games in the last two years (thanks to injuries), actually missing all of last season.
All in all, it was a solid 13-year career for the big man from the Carribean. He leaves the game as the Golden State Warriors’ all-time leading shot-blocker, along with finishing as one of their top rebounders. Foyle spent 10 of his 13 seasons with the Warriors, also making a very brief stop with the Memphis Grizzlies and a few seasons with the Orlando Magic.
Foyle was more than just a 6-foot-10 shot-blocking machine — he is a gentleman — straight up. There is no other way to put it. He has to be one of the most likable and interesting players in the game — that is if you know about him. Foyle is an intellect, far beyond the stereotype of NBA players. He reviews books for HOOP Magazine, writes poetry and is one of the league’s biggest humanitarians.
Foyle is responsible creating both the Democracy Matters and the Kerosene Lamp Foundation, both to empower, educate and help the youth.
In addition to all of that, Foyle was also a Vice President of the league’s players’ association and is finishing up his masters degree in sports psychology, he even wrote a poem about his NBA journey. This most definitely isn’t the last we’ll be hearing of Foyle — I have a feeling he’ll be involved with the league for years to come — it’s definitely safe to say that there’s only one Adonal Foyle.
Here’s a great interview that he recently did with the Golden State Warriors, it’s a must watch — you need to know more about Foyle, his story was slept on by mass media.
