AMAR’E STOUDEMIRE, a six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection and Rookie of the Year whose pick-and-roll finishing and rim-rocking dunks made him one of the game’s most electric offensive forces for a number of years, announced his retirement from the NBA on Tuesday after 14 pro seasons.

    A free agent after spending last season with the Miami Heat, the 33-year-old power forward/center signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the New York Knicks — the team he joined in 2010 on a five-year, US$100 million deal, pledging to lead New York back to NBA prominence before injuries, inconsistency and internal intrigue scuttled those grand plans — so he could announce the end of his NBA playing days.

    “I want to thank Knicks owner Mr. James Dolan, Phil Jackson and Steve Mills for signing me so that I can officially retire as a Knick,” Stoudemire said in a statement released by the Knicks on Tuesday afternoon.

    Knicks general manager Steve Mills said the team was “honored to oblige” when Stoudemire reached out to find out if the team would be receptive to him retiring in orange and blue because, as he put it, “Although my career has taken me to other places, my heart had always remained in the Big Apple.” And yet, to many fans, the enduring image of Stoudemire — who ends his career having averaged 18.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 31 minutes per game — will be him wearing the orange of the Phoenix Suns, setting a screen for Steve Nash, taking a pocket pass and diving hard to the rim, knifing through defenders before elevating for a thunderous slam.

    It was the Suns who drafted Stoudemire — a physical specimen who had only begun playing organized basketball at age 14, and quickly rose through the ranks to become Florida’s Mr. Basketball and the top prep recruit in the country — out of Cypress Creek High School in Orlando with the ninth pick in the 2002 NBA draft, making him the only player that year selected to make the leap straight from high school to the pros. He proved his mettle right away, appearing in all 82 games for the Suns, including 71 starts, and averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game en route to winning the NBA’s 2002-03 Rookie of the Year award.

    (SD-Agencies)