Rudy Gay has officially announced his retirement, closing the chapter on an impressive 18-year NBA career. In his post on X, he shared, “It’s time to hang it up. Thank you for everything — it’s all love.” Reflecting on his journey, Gay entered the league as the No. 8 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets out of UConn but was traded a week later to the Memphis Grizzlies. There, he spent a significant portion of his career, reaching several milestones and cementing his legacy in the league.

Rudy Gay shared the news of his retirement in an article for The Players’ Tribune, where the 38-year-old reflected on his journey through professional basketball. He opened up about memorable encounters, including those with the late Kobe Bryant, and shared insights into his NBA story. One particularly challenging chapter came in 2017 when Gay tore his left Achilles tendon—a devastating injury he described as the lowest point of his career. “I’ll be the first one to admit … that time in my life … it was a lot. People were telling me how I’d never be the same as a player,” he said, recalling the time when he got injured. At the time, people told him he wouldn’t be the same player he was before.

He adds, “I was salty. I absolutely was. I’ll cop to that.” It was during this time he talks about DeMar DeRozan and refers to him as his ‘brother’ and talks about their bond saying “We’ve definitely both been through some stuff in this game, and in life, and ever since we became friends in Toronto, we’ve leaned on each other in the way that real, true friends do.” stating that he and DeMar have gone through lots of ups and downs together and leaned on each other for help but that’s what friends are for right?

Rudy then talks about how DeMar helped him get over his slump after suffering from the injury. “When he came over to the Spurs from the Raptors it was an absolute gift for me. Because that guy, he knows me.” Rudy added, “He’d see me moping around or feeling sorry for myself, and he’d know exactly how to get me out of that funk.”

How did Rudy Gay’s Achilles injury happen?

On January 19, 2017, Rudy was playing for the Sacramento Kings against the Indiana Pacers. During the 3rd quarter of the game, Rudy fell while on offense and required assistance to carry him off the court. He suffered an injury that has ended the careers of many NBA players: a ruptured Achilles tendon.

According to researchers from Drexel University, 39% of NBA players from 1988 to 2011 who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon never played in the league again. However, Rudy Gay expressed determination not to be part of that statistic. After his injury, Gay joined the San Antonio Spurs and confidently declared, “I’m going to have the best comeback ever.” Just six months after the injury, he signed with the Spurs and committed himself to a rigorous rehabilitation process to overcome this significant setback.

Gay’s comeback proved fruitful as he had a productive season in 2018-19, ranking second on the Spurs in rebounds with an average of 6.8 per game and third in points with 13.7 per game—his highest rebounding average for a single season. He rebounded strongly and continued to play for the Spurs until 2021 before joining the Utah Jazz for the final years of his NBA career. As Rudy Gay transitions into retirement, I wish him a fulfilling life ahead after basketball.