Sharpshooter Kevin Martin retires after 12 NBA seasons

If you can shoot the rock, it seems like there is a place for you in the NBA forever. Or close to it.

His killer catch-and-shoot skills had Kevin Martin part of the NBA rotation for a dozen years, but Martin bought an ad in his hometown Zanesville Times Recorder in Ohio on Thanksgiving to say his time in the NBA has come to an end (hat tip Bleacher Report):

Thank you, thank you, thank you. There’s not a more perfect day for me to express those feelings. There are so many ways to announce your after professional career plans. My family and close friends have known since June of the direction I wanted my life to go….

To my community, I think the way I have always wanted to do it was on a personal level with the place that has always been there for me as I started this journey as a 18 year old kid. That place is Zanesville, OH! It was always about you! Special is just the start to describe you guys as part of my journey from day 1. Honestly, there isn’t enough pages or enough days in a year for me to name everyone that has had a positive impact in my life…. Thank you so much and I’m excited to see who the next kid will be to experience the professional sports world but most importantly… for them to experience the reception from our community every time they are able to come back home and give hope for the next generation!!!

In appreciation to you… The Kevin Martin Youth Foundation will be donating $100,000 to enhance the talents of our young children, on and off the sporting fields, in the Zanesville and surrounding area! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Martin played for the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, with a career average of 17.4 points per game. He averaged more than 23 points a game three times, twice with Rick Adelman in Sacramento and once in Houston. The past couple years he battled injury, including a fractured wrist.

Coming out of Western Carolina, Martin always exceeded expectations, he could knock down shots but his game rounded out to do much more than that — he could put the ball on the floor, dish a little, and play some defense. But scoring was his forte — watch him drop 50 on the Warriors back in 2009.