Miami Heat veteran Shane Battier announced that he will likely retire from the game at the end of the season, the former Duke University standout said in an interview with Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report.

Battier, who averaged 4.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in his third season with the Heat, said it would take a divine intervention for him to change his mind on hanging his jersey for good.

The veteran is playing the final year of the three-year, $9.4 million deal he signed with the Heat the year after losing to Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. He has been an instrumental piece in the team's back-to-back championship, giving them long range shooting and a defensive specialist in the perimeter.

According to Hoops Rumors reporter Cray Allred, Battier might have been a great presence in the locker room, but his performance took a plunge this season with his points, field-goal percentage and minutes played all hit career lows.

"Battier has long been considered a player whose value isn't evident in the box score, and was an early darling of the advanced metrics community. Still, his performance has waned of late. He spent much of last year's title run out of the rotation, and is averaging career lows in minutes, points, and field goal percentage this season."

The 35-year old Battier, former sixth overall pick in 2001 NBA Draft, averaged 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game over 12 NBA seasons.