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Carlos Boozer has officially retired from basketball. There will be no “AND ONE!” more season. Carlos Boozer ushered in a new era in Utah Jazz basketball when he signed with Utah—yes, Utah has landed big name free agency—while spurning the Cleveland Cavaliers. When he was healthy the Utah Jazz were one of the most dominant offenses in the league. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer made up one of the most feared and iconic duos of the 2000s.
While as a Jazz player he averaged 19.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.0 steals. He was the last of a dying breed of traditional power forwards. He played with his back to the basket and was amazing in the post with his wide array of post moves. He helped Utah move past the Stockton-Malone years to the DWill-Booz years.
He will be remembered for making sure T-Mac broke his promise of making it to the second round of the playoffs two years in a row. He dominated Yao Ming on offense in those playoff series shooting rainbow after rainbow over 7’6 Ming and dominating that matchup.
DWill to Booz was a work of art. It worked. His touch around the basket was phenomenal. He was incredibly ambidextrous. He will also be known in Utah Jazz fandom as a bit of a traitor. Announcing that he was going to test free agency WHILE RECOVERING FROM AN INJURY DURING A MID-GAME INTERVIEW WHILE UTAH WAS PLAYING only to opt into his contract the following season. While many saw him as the surly one in the locker room, he was the jovial one that kept that DWill, Mehmet Okur, Kyle Korver, and Andrei Kirilenko team running.
He was competitive, and a beast. He also had the honor of wearing the worst jerseys ever created in Jazz fandom. Sorry, Booz. That’s on us. We’ll own that one. You should have never had to wear baby blue pajama jerseys. But we will not accept responsibility for your terrible hair dye incident. In Utah, we’re proud of our balding heads. We taught you better.
All in all, congrats, Carlos, on an amazing career. You lifted Utah all the way to a Western Conference Finals matchup with the Spurs. To this day, every Jazz fan instinctively yells “AND ONE” after a foul, even if there’s no shot attempt. We look forward to the day that we put your jersey in the rafters, but just make sure not to announce that you are thinking of moving your jersey to Miami during the ceremony. Enjoy, retirement, Booz. You earned it.