Emotional farewell for Battier

Shane Battier and Tony Parker, who played against each other in the NBA Finals this June, got together and played for the same team at the Yao Foundation Charity Game in Dongguan on Aug 31.

Battier, who won the NBA championship twice with the Miami Heat, announced his retirement following the Heat's Game 5 loss to Parker's San Antonio Spurs after 13 seasons in the league.

His nine-year sponsor Peak, a Chinese sportswear brand, hosted a touching retirement ceremony for Yao's former teammate at the Houston Rockets during the halftime interval of the charity game on Sunday.

Battier's fans waved posters and shouted "one more year!" from the stands. Some of his most memorable NBA moments were played on the big screen above the court.

"You will see me (again) but not in the basketball uniform, which I'm 100 percent sure about," Battier said.

"I'm flattered, very honored (by my Chinese fans) but I've reached all my goals in basketball. It's time to do other things and spend more time with my family."

He said his next job would be as a basketball commentator for ESPN.

"I left the game with no regrets," he said about retiring after the Heat's loss to the Spurs.

"I always gave my best, gave my team the chance and maximized my potential ... I gave it all I could and I leave very fulfilled."

Meanwhile, the Spurs' star guard, Parker, shows no signs of slowing down and said he was inspired by the team's loss to the Heat in the finals the previous season, which was "painful to watch".

"You learn from different experiences and I think last year was a great experience for us because it was a really tough loss, maybe the worst in my career," he said.

"The way we handled it and the way we came back shows a lot about our character."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich played a video of the loss on the first day of the 2013-2014 season's training camp.

"It was very painful to watch. I didn't even want to watch it. I didn't want that to be the last memory of my career," Parker said.

"All people remember is championships and what you did last. We had won three championships but people still talked about how we lost in 2013. That was a huge motivation (for me) coming into the training camp."

LeBron James' return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and that team's recruitment of star forward Kevin Love sparked an interesting discussion about which team will claim the title next season.

Battier, James' former teammate at the Heat, showed his belief in the star's ability to make a team rise to the top.

"One thing I learned in Miami is that if you have LeBron you have a shot to win. He is the best player on the planet right now," he said.

But he also believes the Chicago Bulls have a shot with a healthy Derrick Rose.

"It will be a terrific battle between Cleveland and Chicago for the top spot in the Eastern Conference," Battier said, adding the Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers were the favorites in the Western Conference.

Parker acknowledged that with James the Cavaliers will "obviously" be a good team in the coming season but he said the Spurs just need to focus on the Western Conference first.

"The Western Conference is tough with a lot of great teams such as OKC, the Clippers and Houston. It's going to be a very high-level competition but as long as we stay healthy and play our best game, we will be fine," he said. "I like our chances.

"We don't make a lot of splashes. We stay consistent and we stay loyal. We were happy to re-sign everyone. There is a great opportunity for us and a great challenge to try to repeat (the championship) because it is something we have never done."

xujingxi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/04/2014 page23)