Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - Chamique Holdsclaw's abrupt retirement five games into the season sent shockwaves through the WNBA last week. Even more surprising was her decision to step away from the game without even giving an explanation.

Until now.

Holdsclaw told the Los Angeles Times that she lost the desire to keep playing, and that retiring "was not an easy decision."

"Now, it's about moving forward," Holdsclaw told the Times. "It's just about being free to try something new. I think I could probably have still played, but I feel good. From day one, I wasn't all about just basketball, basketball, basketball.

"I made my decision because I just didn't feel it anymore. It was like, 'This is it,' "

Holdsclaw left the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, just five games into the season. She averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

Holdsclaw admitted that she contemplated retirement last season.

"I thought about it last season, I thought about it when I was overseas in the offseason, I thought about it, like, every other day," Holdsclaw told the newspaper. "All my friends can tell you, for the last year, or so, I was going, 'I'm done.' "

The Sparks acquired Holdsclaw in a trade with the Washington Mystics two years ago. She played seven seasons with the Mystics, who drafted her with the No. 1 overall pick in 1999 and won WNBA rookie of the year honors.

Holdsclaw went through many losing seasons while in Washington. The Mystics only had one winning campaign, which was in 2002, when the team advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

In 2004, Holdsclaw battled depression following the death of her grandmother, who raised her. She left the Mystics in July of that year to play basketball in Spain. When she returned to Washington, the team traded her to Los Angeles.

While she wouldn't rule out a return to the WNBA, the 29-year-old Holdsclaw said there's "probably about a 20 percent chance" that she'll play again. She would, however, be enticed to come back if she had a legitimate shot at winning her first WNBA championship.

"The only thing that I wanted to do, that I didn't do, was win a title," Holdsclaw told The Times. "I won at every other level, but I'm not going to chase it anymore. If anything about the decision bothered me, it was probably that, and the fact that I didn't say goodbye to the fans."

The Sparks have struggled due to her retirement and star veteran Lisa Leslie's maternity leave. The Sparks fell to 5-5 with their 74-64 loss to Houston on Wednesday, marking the Comets' first win in 11 tries this season.

The Sparks are 2-3 since Holdsclaw's retirement.