The former UConn star is hanging it up after 17 NBA seasons.
UConn standout and 17-year NBA veteran Rudy Gay has retired from professional basketball, he announced Tuesday morning on his personal Twitter account.
I’m 38 years old.
I’ve had an 18 year career in the NBA.
It’s time to hang it up. Thank you for everything — it’s all love. @PlayersTribune https://t.co/GOEjp3rolL
— Rudy Gay (@RudyGay) October 29, 2024
“…I’m just feeling extremely grateful for all the love, wisdom, and friendship that I’ve experienced in the game of basketball,” he wrote in an article for The Players’ Tribune.
In Storrs, Gay averaged 13.6 points per game over two seasons under head coach Jim Calhoun. He was awarded Big East All-Freshman honors in 2004-05. Behind 15.2 points per game in his sophomore season, Gay was recognized as a consensus All-American and as a member of the 2005-06 All-Big East team. In that year’s national tournament, 11-seed George Mason shocked Gay and the No.1 ranked Huskies in the Elite Eight in what would be his final collegiate game.
The Memphis Grizzlies selected Gay with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2006 draft, where he would spend his first six full seasons in the NBA. In January 2013, Memphis sent Gay to Toronto, where he would play just 51 games over two seasons. Gay was again traded in December 2013 to Sacramento and would later sign a three-year, $40 million deal to play with the Kings through 2016. He spent the next four years in San Antonio before ending his career with a two-year stint in Utah with the Jazz.
In his extensive 17-season career, Gay played in 1,120 games, averaging 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. His only career honors came in his rookie season when he made the 2006-07 All-Rookie Team, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting to Portland’s Brandon Roy. In total, Gay amassed over $184 million in career earnings during his NBA career.
During his time at UConn, Gay credits Calhoun for helping mold him into the man and player he was both with the Huskies and in the NBA. In his own words, Calhoun taught him invaluable lessons — lessons he can’t quite define.
“…when I left [Baltimore] and went up to UConn, I learned a lesson from Jim Calhoun … I don’t even know exactly what about. I guess you could maybe say about being responsible for your actions,” Gay wrote.
In his Tribune farewell, Gay gives thanks to teammates and league opponents instrumental in his professional success: Carmelo Anthony, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, but none more helpful than Kobe Bryant.
“Kobe’s one of the main guys I leaned on for advice after I tore my Achilles in 2017. He helped me so much back then, and I’m forever grateful,” Gay wrote.