Former Raptors center Lucas Nogueira announces retirement

Former Raptors center Lucas Nogueira is retiring from basketball, according to a post on his Instagram. Nogueira played 141 games for the Raptors between 2014 and 2018. Toronto declined to tender the big man an extension offer for the 2018-19 season, making him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018. He opted to return overseas, playing for clubs in Spain and Bahrain. Nogueira posted career NBA averages of 3.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 12.4 minutes per game.

Nogueira alluded to incurring a new injury after a prior injury kept him off the court for the better part of two years. Toronto drafted the 7-footer with the No. 16 pick in the 2013 NBA draft (one pick after reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo).

Nogueira mentioned in his Instagram post:

“Certainly the sad moments [on the court] were those that took me away from the courts due to injuries. I always knew that returning to the [court] after almost two years away from her would be very difficult and challenging, but I was willing to take on more of this challenge in my career. However, last Tuesday, it happened again, so I made this difficult decision and asked to leave Fortaleza Basquete Cearense.”