Rudy Gay Retires After 17-Year NBA Career

Rudy Gay, former UConn basketball star and the No. 8 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, has announced his retirement after a 17-year NBA career. Gay played for five teams, most notably the Memphis Grizzlies, where he spent seven seasons and left a significant mark in franchise history. He averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds over 1,120 career games, ranking 91st on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 17,642 points. Despite being one of the league's consistent performers, Gay reflected on the difficulty of accepting the end of his playing career, as shared in a personal essay on The Players' Tribune. His career highlights include playing for the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz, and he was briefly with the Golden State Warriors before being released last year. Gay expressed gratitude for his basketball journey, which began at UConn under coach Jim Calhoun, and now looks forward to the future beyond the court.