NBA veteran wing Gordon Hayward is retiring after 14 seasons as a professional. The 34-year-old announced his decision to move on with a post on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday morning.
"God has blessed me with an amazing journey, one that has taken turns I couldn't have expected or dreamed of as a kid in Brownsburg, Indiana. Today, I am officially retiring from the game of basketball. It's been an incredible ride and I'm so grateful to everyone who helped me achieve more that I ever imagined," Hayward said in part in his post.
Gordon Hayward is retiring from the NBA https://t.co/TprNwIK1VC
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 1, 2024
Hayward, the former No. 9 pick in the 2010 NBA draft out of Butler, spent his first seven seasons in Utah where he played the best basketball of his career. His stint with the Jazz culminated with an All-Star selection in the 2016-17 season, when he averaged 21.9 points and 5.4 assists on 47.1% shooting from the floor and a 39.8% clip from three.
Hayward reunited with his college coach, Brad Stevens, when he signed with the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2017, but a compound fracture in his leg ended his first season in Boston five minutes into the first game. The devastating injury came as Hayward was entering his prime, and while he returned from the injury to play six more seasons, he was never quite the same player.
He played in 51 games last season between his time with the Charlotte Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder, where he averaged 9.8 points and 3.5 rebounds on 46.4% shooting. For his career, Hayward averaged 15.2 points and 4.4 rebounds on 45.5% shooting that included a 37.0% mark from three.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Veteran Gordon Hayward Announces Retirement.
