Veteran NBA forward Rudy Gay announced his retirement Tuesday in an article for “The player’s stand“.
“Eighteen years in the league,” Gay writes. “I learned from some of the best to ever do it. I made some amazing friends for life. I feel good. Healthy. Inspired. I have a family that loves me and I love more than anything.
“Not only am I fine. It’s like…
“I am the luckiest man in the world.”
Gay, 38, played for five teams (the Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and Toronto Raptors) after being selected eighth overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets.
After a draft day deal that sent him to the Grizzlies for Shane Battier, Gay had a strong rookie season. In 78 games, he averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, good enough to see him finish third for Rookie of the Year and make the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Gay spent parts of seven seasons in Memphis before being traded twice in the span of 11 months: first to the Raptors midway through the 2012-13 season and then early in the 2013-14 season when he moved to the Kings.
In January 2017, Gay ruptured his left Achilles tendon and returned the following season after signing with the Spurs. Injuries would continue to hamper him for the next few seasons and he did not play more than 69 games in a season in his final seven NBA seasons.
Gay last played in the NBA with the Jazz during the 2022-23 season.
“I needed to humble myself and say, ‘Look, this is over,'” Gay wrote. “But actually facing that everything is overThat’s… a process. Honestly, I’m still dealing with one and sometimes I struggle with it. I’ll still be watching games and I’ll see some of these guys missing a pass or fumbling the ball out of bounds, and I’m absolutely that guy yelling at the TV like, ‘I’m better than that clown.’ Are you kidding me?!?!?’ It’s not pretty.
“I’m 38 years old. That’s not even half of my career for most people. So, the way I see it, I have a lot of work ahead of me… In the meantime, I feel extremely grateful for all the love , the wisdom and friendship that I have experienced in basketball.
In two seasons at UConn, Gay was Big East Rookie of the Year, first-team All-Big East and second-team All-American. He also represented the United States twice at the FIBA World Cup, helping the Americans capture gold in 2010 and 2014.