NBA veteran Rudy Gay has confirmed that he is retiring from basketball after a storied career with five different teams in the league.
The 38-year-old last played in the 2022-23 season for the Utah Jazz. He has signed a contract with the Golden State Warriors last summer but was waived just before the season and had been a free agent since.
Gay was selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets out of the University of Connecticut. He was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies a few weeks later.
He spent the majority of his 17-season career with the Grizzlies and the Sacramento Kings.
The forward averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds across 1,120 career games (778 starts).
NBA veteran Rudy Gay has confirmed that he is retiring from basketball
Gay announced the news in an article for the Players’ Tribune, admitting that, while he feels like ‘the luckiest guy in the world’ for his accomplishments on the court, his career didn’t turn out exactly how he’d have liked.
‘My story, it’s not some fairy tale. In the end, I guess I would say it was … complicated,’ he wrote. ‘Just in terms of how it all worked out. The injuries sucked, for sure. And, for whatever reason, there were a number of times when I ended up with teams in the middle of situations that were just not ideal, or teams dealing with some sort of internal turmoil.
‘In those moments, of course it was difficult. And at times it almost felt like it was becoming too much. But at this point? At the end of the line? I can’t be upset about those things forever, you know what I mean? Spend the rest of my life thinking about what-ifs? Be all pissed off and bitter and grumpy? Like, be that guy? No thanks.
‘Those were the cards I was dealt. And I can honestly tell you that I did the best I could with those cards. I may not have been the best player on the planet, but I really did try my best.
‘It wasn’t always all good. I could’ve done more or been better. But you know what? At the same time … in some cases, on some nights, the result was actually really cool. And the circle I formed, the moments I shared, the teammates and coaches I worked alongside with, made the ride worth every moment.’
More to follow.
