Indiana Pacers PG Darren Collison Surprisingly Retires From NBA

In a rather surprising turn of events, Pacers guard Darren Collison announced his retirement from the NBA.

Collison is just 31 and has played 10 seasons in the league. Just last season he played 28.2 minutes per game in Indiana, so the move comes as a shock to most.

Collison entered the league from UCLA in 2009, via the Hornets' first-round pick in the draft, 21st overall. As a rookie he was given plenty of opportunity, and scored 12.6 points and distributed 5.7 assists across 27.8 minutes, earning starting honors in 37 games.

He played for the Hornets for just one year, before joining the Pacers in 2010. He then moved to Dallas in 2012 and the Clippers in 2013 before spending three seasons in Sacramento. In 2017 Collison returned to Indiana, which is where he finished his career.

What's most shocking is how sudden this retirement came on. Collison was reportedly set to earn $10-12 million on the open market this season, per Woj.

Collison's reasoning for retirement was partially due to his faith.

"I am one of the Jehovah's Witnesses and my faith means everything to me. I receiver so much joy from volunteering to help others and participate in a worldwide ministry," Collison told The Undefeated. "With that being said, I have decided to retire from the NBA."

So it seems that Collison is going to retire in order to help others and spread joy to people. A pretty touching gesture, considering what he had at stake in terms of potential earnings this year.

Perhaps Collison will stage an NBA comeback at some point, after all, the 31-year-old still likely has a fair amount of gas left in the tank.