Terrence Ross, who won the Slam Dunk Contest in his Rookie season, shocked the NBA world with the announcement of his retirement. After 11 years in the NBA, the former Washington Huskies guard opted to hang up his jersey at the age of 32. He has often stated how watching the late, great Kobe Bryant tear it up on a nightly basis inspired him to follow his dreams. Not only was he inspired by Kobe, but he also considered him as the GOAT. But the Black Mamba wasn’t the only one.

As is the case with most NBA players over the past couple of decades, while they might have their favorites, Michael Jordan is on a different pedestal. Despite considering Kobe his GOAT, MJ’s The Last Dance docu-series had the former Toronto Raptors star in awe. Taking to his X account, the star wrote, “Kobe will always the goat to me, but man… Jordan is just different.“

It wasn’t surprising to watch Ross’ faith dwindle. Kobe was inspired by Michael Jordan. In the documentary, there was a special part that featured Kobe. He stated how he wouldn’t have won 5 championships without Jordan’s guidance. Kobe’s words were, “You heard fans saying, ‘Hey Kobe, you’d beat Michael one-on-one,’ and I feel like, ‘Yo, what you get from me is from him.‘”

While Ross didn’t get a chance to play against His Airness, he was lucky to battle an aging Bryant a few times. Surprisingly, Ross holds a winning record of 4-1 against his idol. However, the one game that Kobe and the Lakers won over the Raptors, the Black Mamba recorded a triple-double. Ross’ best performance against Bryant came during their last matchup in 2015, Kobe’s final season in the league.

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Ross was selected as the 8th pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 2012 NBA Draft and suited up for them for 5 years before moving to Orlando. After his 7-year stint with the Magic, the 32-year-old joined the Phoenix Suns, offering crucial depth to the team that underwent a significant transformation. However, things didn’t work out as he had hoped for and he made a big decision on December 1. Nonetheless, his place among NBA history-makers is set.

Terrence Ross created NBA history back in 2014

During a game against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014, Ross scored 51 points, going 10-17 from three, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 50 or more points in a game while averaging fewer than 10 points per game at the time.

During the latest episode of his ‘The T.Ross Podcast‘, the 32-year-old announced that he was retiring from the league after 11 years. While it must have been a tough decision for Ross, fans were shocked to hear the news. Ross will always be remembered for his stunning hops and gravity-defying dunks.

He played in 47 Playoff games and contributed to the Raptors advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2016 Playoffs. In 733 regular season games, he averaged 11.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. What are some of your favorite memories from Ross’ NBA career? Let us know in the comments.

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