Former Boston Celtic and 14-year veteran Gordon Hayward announced his retirement from the NBA Thursday morning. Hayward spent the end of the 2023-24 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Celtics signed Hayward in the summer of 2017 to a four-year, $128 million contract. With Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, Hayward was set to be an integral part of a new era for Boston. A devastating leg injury less than six minutes into the first game of the next season derailed this hope. He missed the entire 2017-18 regular season, and the vision for this Celtics core never materialized. Hayward returned the following season, but soon enough Horford and Irving left Boston. Hayward remained a key contributor alongside the ascendant Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, however, helping the team reach the conference finals in 2020. After four seasons with the Celtics, Hayward looked for a bigger role, and joined the Charlotte Hornets ahead of the 2020-21 season.
Hayward was an All-Star in 2014, and one of the league’s best offensive players for much of that decade. In his retirement announcement he thanked his parents and family, as well as his fans for providing encouragement in support through the many stages of his career.
Celtics Lab 275: Sussing out the second-best team in the East with Bobby Krivitsky https://t.co/TMmXUeMqD4 pic.twitter.com/RmvWfPpiqz
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) July 31, 2024
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