Cavaliers center is retiring after one season in the NBA, and he is going out a champion

David Richard/USA TODAY Sports

In the midst on the Cleveland Cavaliers' historic championship win, Sasha Kaun was definitely lost in the middle of all of the excitement. However, the NBA international is still a champion and he's going to retire as a champ after one lone season in the league, according to KUSports.

How's that for a success rate?

To be fair, Kaun spent the previous seven seasons with CSKA Moscow, winning 5 Russian League titles and 5 VTA United League titles, as well as a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics.

He also attended the University of Kansas, where he won the NCAA Championship in 2008, so he's accomplished quite a lot.

Still, retiring after one season in the NBA, albeit a championship-winning season is rather peculiar, but Kaun pointed to his lingering ankle issues as the reason why: "I kind of feel my ankle has been bothering me awhile. With the amount of pain I was going through, I just wanted to be done. It's something I've had all my career," he added of right ankle problems. "It was definitely getting worse and worse, year by year."

However, he also pointed to the fact that he wouldn't be playing as a reason why he's leaving the game. Just last month, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, who subsequently waived him. That may have effectively ended any hope of playing in 2016-17.