by Matt Rooney
Shockwaves were sent through the Newton Summer League as Yagev Levi, Ian Harris, Jon Hammer, Gabo Garcia and Sam Thayer have officially announced their retirement.
Some were not surprising, as Jon battled injuries last season, Ian never really came and Gabo is getting up there in age and his legs are not what they once were.
Jon Hammer may have been the biggest what-could-have-been in NSL history. He never really stayed healthy, and never played with an elite guard like David Speidel, Matt Rooney or Henri Rousseau - players who would have helped him reach that next level.
Hammer was one of NSL's most dominant big men, but he never really reached that 2017 Fogel level as an elite two-way superstar. -Sam Thayer
The NSL podcast host totally changed games with his defense, and it really stinks that NSL didn't get to see more of HammerTime on the court.
Ian Harris was a really solid player who made an impact much greater than his stats suggested. As the Marcus Smart of the league, Ian was a true winner, and one of 3 players to have won multiple NSL championships (Chris, Matt). Everyone wanted to be his teammate and he will be missed.
Ian didn't already retire? -Sam Thayer
A two year vet, Gabo Garcia was the perfect NSL role player. He made every team he played on better and impacted the game in so many ways. He goes out as the 2021 4th man of the year award winner.
It's sad that Gabo is retiring to focus on gaming, but honestly, I get it. The fact that he made his retirement announcement official on discord says all we need to know. -Sam Thayer
However, the retirements from Yagev Levi and Sam Thayer were somewhat surprising.
Yagev Levi has decided to hang them up after a rollercoaster of a season in 2021. He started the season as a top three MVP candidate playing DPOY level defense. He ended it bowing out in Game 3 of the NSL finals and scoring 0 points in the do-or-die loss to Team Matt, a team that employed the infamous Kenny Brown, in what might be the worst performance in NSL history.
There were so many good moments but Yagev will ultimately be remembered for his brawl with Hano in 2018, his countless chemistry issues, his often-bricked push floater, and the 0-19 clunker in Game 3 of the 2021 NSL Finals. -Matt Rooney & Eric Zhang
Yagev retires as a two time former defensive player of the year, a five time all-star, and the all-time NSL career leader in steals.
Sam Thayer may not have been the best player on the floor, but he made an impact that went much deeper than the box score. In his early years, he was a dominant forward who racked up double doubles and even won the first ever NSL DPOY award. Recently, he had a ton of success building quality teams and mentally taking opposing players - such as Nate, Ian and Hano - completely out of the game.
Sam was the Nate-stopper. Sam played mind games with him and absolutely took him out of the game. -Eric Zhang
Despite all of his contributions on the court, Sam was most known for his media work off of it. The league has been incredibly lucky to have him. The former 2015 #2 pick retires as a multi-time all-star and a former DPOY.
With these five guys retiring, that leaves room for players to take their place, and this upcoming season, Matteo Greenberg, David Speidel, Thomas Byrne and David HS will be making their return to the Newton Summer League.
Two members from this retiring class will be inducted into the NSL Hall of Fame. Which two, however, will be released on the first podcast for the 2022 season - in just a few short weeks.
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