34-year-old Gordon Hayward announced his retirement.
Gordon Hayward played for the Jazz, Celtics, Hornets and OKC teams in his 14-year career in the NBA.
I remember he had his best seasons with the Utah Jazz. After the Utah Jazz, his career started to decline.
It looks like he might have reached his limit. Considering all the injuries and the years he's dedicated to the game of basketball. Retiring wouldn’t be surprising if he's thinking about stepping away. He's had a long career, but his performance has been inconsistent lately due to those injuries. He's given a lot to the teams he’s played for, but if his body can't handle the demands of high-level competition anymore, it might be time for him to prioritize his health. It's sad that he never even made it to the conference finals all career, despite all his efforts.
I really didn't see this coming at all, I thought he's still got a few good years left in him to play for, especially after getting traded to Oklahoma City Thunder before the transfer deadline, I though he'd still play on for 1-2 years more in OKC, but I guess the persistent health and injury might have contributed to him calling it quits this early.
Do anyone have the link to the announcement or full statement from him ?
Here is the statement from his official twitter account:
https://x.com/gordonhayward/status/1819010197857198161I do agree though, I think he can still play, but most likely the injuries did take a toll on his body already. We were expecting something big when he was in Boston, unfortunately that injury though really hurt his career.
Same with the Hornets, he did play games and average double digits, but then again, he suffered another injury if I'm not mistaken and then traded to OKC and he wasn't the same anymore, perhaps he wasn't given playing time there. But in any case, 14 year career in the NBA is already huge for a player like him and he could have a lot of money already.