Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, who is about to enter his 15th NBA season, spoke during media day about the outside attention paid to his age and his decision to retire from the national team this summer.

Vucevic will turn 35 this month, but he still averaged a double-double last season, his seventh consecutive season to accomplish this feat, while also shooting 40.2% from three-point range, the second-best mark of his career.

In the European Championships in the summer, Vucevic also became the core of the team by averaging 20.8 points per game. However, he announced his retirement from the national team this year, sparking speculation about his career prospects.

In the interview, Vucevic explained his retirement from the national team: "This is not a prelude to retirement, but a necessary choice. It's about how to better manage the body, rest and training. I still love basketball, and retirement is not something I'm considering."

In response to the question of "older players", Vucevic said that he is no different from when he was 28 or 29 years old, and even feels better: "My playing style does not rely entirely on athletic ability. Fortunately, I have not experienced major injuries, so I can still maintain a high level and will continue to do so in the next few years."

As the first major player acquired by the Chicago Bulls management, Vucevic will become a free agent next summer. There's been much discussion about whether he'll re-sign, with some even speculating the team will consider using young center Chuck Collins more. However, Vucevic emphasized that he can still play a starting role: "I can still play these minutes and still compete. My role will change sooner or later, but that's still a ways off."