Veteran forward Rudy Gay is retiring after 17 seasons in the NBA, he announced Tuesday in The Players’ Tribune.
The Houston Rockets selected Gay with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft and subsequently traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies.Gay spent his first seven seasons with the Grizzlies, averaging 17.9 points, 5.8 boards, two assists, and 1.3 steals across 479 appearances. The UConn product made the NBA All-Rookie first team and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. His 8,562 points in a Grizzlies uniform rank fifth on the franchise’s all-time leaderboard.Gay also made stops with the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz. He tallied a career-high 21.1 points per contest with the Kings during the 2014-15 campaign.
His last NBA appearance came in March 2023 with the Jazz. He signed a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors that September, but they waived him before the regular season started.Gay starred at UConn for two seasons before going pro. He was the 2005 Big East Rookie of the Year and was a consensus All-American second-team selection the following season.