Originally drafted 60th overall by the Lakers in 2012, Robert Sacre would go on to have a four year NBA career – all spent with the Lakers – as a high-energy big man off the bench. Sacre wouldn’t ever see much of the court in the NBA and never averaged more than 16.9 minutes per game – yet was able to make his presence felt on a regular basis. After his last year with the Lakers in 2015-2016, Sacre would go on to join the Hitachi Sun Rockers in Japan. For the Sun Rockers, Sacre would never average fewer than 15 points per game across his three seasons and played a steady, prominent role across his three years with the team. Follow the Heavy Los Angeles Lakers page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content! Former Laker Robert Sacre Set to Retire After Stint in Japan

Former @Lakers Robert Sacre retires from basketball. Last season he played with @we_r_sunrockers https://t.co/HxYE1UIa1g
— Andres Lopez-Puente (@Shootingfor3) July 31, 2019
Making an announcement through the Sun Rockers, Sacre decided to officially hang up the gloves – citing a desire to spend more time with his family moving forward. While Sacre is certainly getting a bit older, he is coming off the best statistical season of his career in which he nearly averaged 20 points per game. While this makes his decision to retire a bit more confusing, at the end of the day Sacre might have simply seen the writing on the wall and decided that no matter how well he performed, the NBA wouldn’t come calling again. Sacre’s infectious energy helped keep Laker fans engaged and excited through some very dark days for the franchise. While Sacre’s energy rarely equated to elite on-court production, it was refreshing to see him check into games and play with an unmatched ferocity on both ends of the court. Sacre was also one of the Lakers’ biggest cheerleaders when off the court and could potentially hold the Lakers record for high-fiving teammates in a season (could have been the career leader if he stuck around longer than four years). While his play might have never stood out from the pack, Sacre’s energy made him a cult-favorite among a number of fans. Robert Sacre Part of Last Lakers Team to Make Playoffs Part of the now famous 2012-2013 team that was the last Lakers’ squad to make the playoffs as a rookie, Sacre wouldn’t sniff the playoffs for his next three seasons in the NBA. With his Lakers career lining up alongside the end of Kobe’s career, Sacre was there for the dark days during and post-Kobe’s Achilles’ injury as well as the Mamba’s final 60 point sendoff. Sacre also had the distinction of being one of the few NBA players to be able to stay on the court after fouling out in 2014. The Lakers went into a game against the Cavaliers with only eighth active players and after losing Nick Young, Chris Kaman, and Jordan Farmar to fouls/injury, Sacre was one of five active players remaining for the Lakers. Due to a rule stating each team is required to have five players on the court at all times, Sacre wasn’t eligible to foul out and was instead able to stay on the court and foul away – though he only ended up with those 6.