NBA veteran, Rudy Gay, officially announced his retirement from professional basketball on Tuesday, October 29th, 2024. The small forward played in the league for 17 seasons. He was considered one of the best scorers in his prime. Over the last few years of Gay’s career, he had become a journeyman and more of a veteran voice for certain locker rooms. Rudy Gay last played for the Utah Jazz in the 2022-23 season and signed a contract with the Golden State Warriors last summer but was waived before the year started.
“I needed to humble myself and be like: ‘Look, this is over,’ Gay wrote in a piece for The Players’ Tribune on Tuesday. “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.”
Rudy Gay is known for his time with the Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, and the Sacramento Kings. He also spent some time with the San Antonio Spurs.
Rudy Gay Retires From NBA After 17 NBA Seasons
Rudy Gay’s Career
Throughout his career, Rudy Gay’s strong suit was certainly scoring. He is one of four players to average at least 10 or more points from the 2006-07 season to the 2020-21 season. The other players in this category are NBA royalty with said players being LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul. For Gay’s career, he averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 total rebounds, 2.0 assists per game, and a field goal percentage of 45.2 percent.
Where Gay really made a name for himself was with the Grizzlies where he spent seven seasons. During his Memphis tenure, he logged 17.9 points. Gay also did this while tallying 1.3 steals, 4.2 total rebounds per game, and a field goal percentage 45.2 percent. Rudy Gay was truly one of the pioneers of the midrange game for his time. He can feel good knowing he had a positive impact on the NBA throughout his long 17-year stint.
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