Jason Richardson announces retirement from NBA

NBA veteran Jason Richardson announced his retirement from the league on Wednesday just days before he was scheduled to begin training camp with the Atlanta Hawks. Richardson made the announcement via his Instagram account with this post:

Today is a bitter sweet moment for me. I'm officially announcing my retirement from pro basketball. I like to thank the organizations and fans in Charlotte, Phoenix, Orlando, Philly and especially The Bay Area for their loyal support the past 14 years. Walking away was the hardest decision I had to make but choosing my health and spending time with my family is more important to me! God bless!

A photo posted by J-Rich (@richboyz23) on Sep 23, 2015 at 6:23pm PDT

A reoccurrence of pain in his surgically repaired knee is what reportedly led to Richardson's decision. He was expected to compete for the Hawks' final roster spot, but will instead walk away with his future in mind.

His departure gives Atlanta 18 players on their training camp roster. The team will hold media day festivities on Monday before heading to the University of Georgia to open training camp.