Kostas Kaimakoglou retires from professional basketball / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Fotodiena.lt/Ž.Gedvila Credit Fotodiena.lt/Ž.Gedvila

The 38-year-old Kaimakoglou decided to end his basketball journey, per Lotsos Sports.

"It's time to say goodbye to basketball as an athlete. Basketball has been my faithful companion, my support, my refuge, my tears and my laughter, my dreams, my pride, my life for as long as I can almost remember myself. Basketball traveled the world with me, it helped me to meet wonderful people, sculpt my values. Basketball helped me pursue my dreams, it lifted me up when I fell, showed me the way when I felt lost, but above all - made me a better person," Kaimakoglou wrote in his message.

Kostas' last career stop was UNICS Kazan. He has been a member of the Russian club since 2012. Last season he represented UNICS in 3 7DAYS EuroCup games.

Before coming to Kazan, the big man played in his homeland with Near East (2002-04), Maroussi (2004-10), and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (2010-12). With the greens, he became a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion in 2011.

In total, Kaimakoglou played in 85 EuroLeague games and averaged 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds.

The 2.06-meter power forward/center was a member of the Greek national team.He won the bronze medal at the 2009 EuroBasket.

This off-season was marked with a lot of basketball legends' retirements.

Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.