MADRID (Spain) - Another member of Spain's golden generation, Felipe Reyes, has played his last game of professional basketball.

The 41-year-old power forward and consummate national team player, who was pivotal in Spain's FIBA World Championship for Junior Men triumph in 1999 and in the senior side's title-winning triumphs at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2006 and FIBA EuroBaskets in 2009, 2011 and 2015,  announced his retirement from the game this week.

If "glitzy" and "spectacular" never preceded the name Reyes, words like tireless, unyielding and relentless did. He was a glue player for a Spain side that dominated in Europe and became one of the best teams at not just World Cups but also Olympics.

Reyes brought toughness to the Spain line-up at the Beijing Olympics

Twice Spain, with Reyes among their most combative players, gave the USA a run for their money in Olympic Finals. In 2008 in Beijing, when the Americans won 118-107 - a margin of victory that may have flattered them because the game had been so close - Reyes was a true warrior, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds while blocking a shot and collecting several floor burns.

Four years later in London, Reyes dug in and again brought toughness to the floor but the USA defeated Spain, 107-100.

Year after year after year, the men that coached Spain had Reyes as an automatic selection. That included FIBA EuroBasket 2015, when Spain were among the pre-tournament favorites but far from a lock to capture the title.

Reyes was among the veterans to first run the gauntlet in Berlin and help Spain survive. Later, in an amazing victory over hosts France in the Semi-Finals, a game that needed overtime, Reyes played 28 minutes and was his normal irrepressible self as Spain prevailed, 80-75.

When Reyes announced his retirement, he said:  "In life, everything comes to an end, and although my head and my body says I can do a little more, I believe that the moment has arrived to put the final point on my days as a professional player."

Reyes (top row, middle) was a key man in the Spain team that won the World Championship for Junior Men

He will now spend more time with family yet also plans to give back to basketball, the game that has been his life.

Reyes truly was a coach's dream. He had an insatiable appetite for rebounds.

Pepu Hernandez was the coach of Spain when they won the world title 15 years ago in Japan.

"The best word that defines Felipe is resilience," Hernandez said, after learning of the retirement. "I have always valued his ability to adapt to any situation and his ability to improve in every way. He is a born worker and a great companion, always making a team. "

The man who coached him the most in the national team over the years, Sergio Scariolo, tweeted: "The example that @9FelipeReyes leaves us all is that no rebound is lost before trying to get it ... no matter how tall you are or how high you jump, if mind and heart really want to achieve it ... and you will not get them all, but you will always be proud for having tried!"

Pau Gasol, who was a teammate of Reyes in all of those title victories with Spain, including the World Championship for Junior Men, also saluted his friend.

He tweeted: "You put an end to your stage as a player with a long and successful career behind you. Without a doubt, you are one of the great friends that our beloved basketball has given me.

"I wish you the best. Do not ever change, @9FelipeReyes".

 
All of the Spain players, especially those like Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro, had a strong bond with Reyes and recognized him as a difference-maker for the national team, and not just because of what he did on the court but also off it. They loved each other's company. Each penciled in a national team commitment every summer because they wanted to be reunited with friends.

As glittering a career that Reyes had with the national team, he also shone brightly for Estudiantes and Real Madrid.

After leaving Estu for Real Madrid in 2004, Reyes went on to capture seven Spanish domestic league crowns. He also helped Madrid win the Copa del Rey six times and the Euroleague twice. 

FIBA