Shaun Livingston’s challenging NBA career and enduring legacy

Professional recovery

For a player like Kevin Durant, a torn ACL didn’t have the long-term effect of stalling his career as would be the case with Livingston. Kevin Durant had enjoyed great success in the NBA injury sidelined him for the coming 2019- 20 season. So the Nets were willing to take the bet that he will have a full recovery. Sports medicine and technology have also come a long way since 2007.

Being in only his third season in the NBA at the time of his injury, Livingston had no such bank to fall back on. Returning to physical health was only part of the challenge and the task of rehabilitating his NBA career still lie ahead.

When Livingston’s contract with the Clippers expired during his missed 2007- 08 season they didn’t make him a qualifying offer and he became an unrestricted free agent. He signed a two-year contract with the Miami Heat where he played just over 41 minutes in four games before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies who waived him after the trade.

Livingston’s road back to relevancy included three weeks with Oklahoma City’s Tulsa 66ers (a D-League team) before the Oklahoma City Thunder signed him on March 31, 2009. Then, OKC cut him just before Christmas.

If not for the mental toughness Livingston had already developed at a very young age and had focused on during his physical recovery, the frustration and disappointment inherent in constantly bouncing from team to team between 2008 and 2014 could have easily caused him to give up.

But in line with his character, Livingston chose to look at things a different way.\n
[via The Undefeated]

"You can look at it as failed opportunity and failures because I didn’t make it with those teams or I didn’t get a contract or they moved me or brought in someone over me. It was always something. I was just using that as fuel and encouragement while always having the right perspective"

All said, after being waived by OKC in 2009, Livingston thought about playing overseas, before spending some time with the Washington Wizards and the Charlotte Hornets. After being traded twice and waived in the summer of 2012, he made his way back to Washington by way of Milwaukee. He also played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets before spending the final five years of his NBA career with the Golden State Warriors.

And what five years it was.