Longtime NBA forward Rudy Gay announced his retirement on Tuesday in an article for “The Player’s Tribune.”
“Eighteen years in the league,” Gay writes. “Learned from some of the best to ever do it. Made some incredible lifelong friends. Feeling good. Healthy. Inspired. Have a family that loves me, and who I love more than anything.
“I’m not just OK. It’s like….
“I’m 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 by the Houston Rockets in the 2006 NBA draft.
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 would spend 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 Jan. 2017, Gay ruptured his left Achilles tendon and returned the following season after signing with the Spurs. Injuries would continue to hamper him over the next few seasons and he did not play more than 69 games in a season in his final seven seasons in the NBA.
Gay last played in the NBA with the Jazz during the 2022-23 season.
“I needed to humble myself and be like: ‘Look, this is over,'” wrote Gay. “But actually coming to grips with it being over, that’s … a process. One I’m honestly still dealing with, and struggle with at times. I’ll still be watching games and see some of these guys missing a pass or fumbling the ball out of bounds, and I absolutely am that dude 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 nowhere even near mid-career for most people’s professional lives. So, the way I see it, I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. … In the meantime, I’m just feeling extremely grateful for all the love, wisdom, and friendship that I’ve experienced in the game of basketball.”
In two seasons at UConn, Gay was Big East Rookie of the Year, First-team All-Big East and a second-team All-American. He also represented the U.S. twice at the FIBA World Cup, helping the Americans capture gold in 2010 and 2014.