Cuttino Mobley, an 11-year National Basketball Association guard who played for five clubs, announced his retirement Thursday due to a worsening heart condition.
Mobley never played for the New York Knicks after being obtained by the club last month from the Los Angeles Clippers, but the 33-year-old backcourt standout nicknamed "Cat" made his farewell at the Knicks' training camp.
Mobley confirmed that he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that led to the deaths of former Boston Celtics playmaker Reggie Lewis and former US college star Hank Gathers.
Heart specialists told Mobley in the month since the deal from the Clippers that his condition had become worse.
Mobley, a second-round selection in the 1998 NBA Draft by Houston, finished with career averages of 16 points, 2.7 assists and 3.9 rebounds a game.
His best season came with Houston in the 2001-2002 campaign when he averaged 21.7 points.
Copyright 2008  AFP American Edition
