Rudy Gay retires: Former top-10 draft pick spent 17 seasons in NBA with five different teams

After a 17-year career, Rudy Gay has announced that he’s retiring from the NBA. Gay was selected No. 8 overall in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, and put together a lengthy career that included playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and Toronto Raptors.

Gay announced his retirement in an open letter he wrote on Player’s Tribune.

“I needed to humble myself and be like: Look, this is over,” Gay wrote in the article. “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.”

Gay was drafted by the Rockets in 2006, but was traded a month after draft night to the Memphis Grizzlies for Shane Battier. Gay spent seven seasons with the Grizzlies, on teams that featured Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry and Pau Gasol. In Gay’s first season in the NBA, he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Brandon Roy and Andrea Bargnani.

“I arrived in Memphis when I was 19, and I was so fortunate to be there with Damon and Kyle and Pau and Mike Conley, all those guys, and be able to see something built from the ground up,” Gay said. “It was so fun on the court, but just as importantly, and meaningfully, it was awesome being a member of that community.”

Toward the end of Gay’s time in Memphis, the Grizzlies began developing into a playoff team, making the playoffs during the last two seasons he was there. But just as the Grizzlies were on the rise, they traded Gay to the Raptors during the 2012-13 season. It was a move that many considered to kickstart Memphis’ rise in the Western Conference, and later on that season the Grizzlies advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history.

“And look, I’m no dummy,” Gay wrote about the trade. “I know the deal. I know I get a lot of flack for the Grizzlies having a run of success after trading me. But all I can tell you is that I’m proud of what I contributed toward the rise of that team back then, and I hope everyone there knows how much I loved being a Memphis Grizzly.”

Gay spent two seasons with the Raptors before he was traded again, this time to the Kings in December 2013. Gay then spent four seasons in Sacramento, and in his final season with the team he tore his Achilles, which forced him to miss the remainder of the 2016-17 season. Gay credits Kobe Bryant as one of the people who helped him in getting back on the court after his Achilles injury.

“Kobe’s one of the main guys I leaned on for advice after I tore my Achilles in 2017,” Gay wrote. “He helped me so much back then, and I’m forever grateful.”

After spending most of his career as a starter, Gay was moved to a bench role when he joined the Spurs following his Achilles tear. “I was salty. I absolutely was. I’ll cop to that.” Though it took time to adjust, Gay became a valuable bench player for the Spurs in the twilight years of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Gay last played for an NBA team during the 2022-23 season, where he came off the bench for the Utah Jazz. He originally signed a contract with the Warriors prior to the start of the 2023-24 season, but was waived before the season started. 

He finished his career with averages of 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and two assists, after putting together an illustrious two-year collegiate career at UConn. While in college, Gay earned All-American honors his sophomore season, helping lead the Huskies to a Big East regular season title en route to an Elite Eight run in March Madness.

“I’m 38 years old. That’s nowhere even near mid-career for most people’s professional lives,” Gay wrote. “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.”