Former ACC standout announces retirement from basketball

In an interview this week with RG.org, former NBA big man John Henson announced his official retirement from basketball. Henson said that he is walking away from the game as a player and now looks forward to continuing his career in sports media.

“I was so blessed to play this long,” Henson said in the interview. “It’s a lot of opportunities, man. It’s just a matter of one step at a time. I’m only 33, so I have time to explore and figure out what I want to do next. This is just the next phase, and we’ll see where it takes me. But so far, so good.”

Henson added that he now has several different media gigs and looks forward to doing more.

“It’s been fun,” Henson said of the sports media game. “It’s like a journey, man. Every year, there’s new opportunities. Just like basketball, you’ve got to work hard, stay down, be prepared and meet the right people, know the right people, treat people the right way and it’ll progress forward for you.”

A 6-foot-10 big man, Henson played for three seasons at the University of North Carolina. He was most renowned for his shot-blocking ability, earning two ACC Defensive Player of the Year nods as well as two All-ACC selections.

After finishing second all-time in Tar Heels history with 279 blocks, Henson went into the NBA and was a first-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2012 (No. 14 overall). Henson helped a young Giannis Antetokounmpo go on his first few playoff runs and remained with the Bucks through 2018. At that point, Henson was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a trade for George Hill, and also later played for the Detroit Pistons (who acquired him as part of a trade package for Andre Drummond).

Henson, who last played in an NBA game in March 2020 before the COVID shutdown, finishes his career with averages of 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Though he is no longer playing, Henson is locked into a few notable booth jobs and will offer color commentary for ACC basketball games under Raycom this season. He is also set to appear on SiriusXM’s “ACC Today” in addition to both YouTube and podcasting work.

While NBA fans might best remember Henson for an old incident with Matt Barnes, he is not done making a name for himself in the sport of basketball and will remain plenty active on the media front from here.