Hayward, who is only 34, is announcing his retirement early in some people's eyes. Hayward was first brought onto the national scene during his days with Butler, where he nearly beat Duke in the National Championship on a half-court buzzer-beating attempt but just fell short.
Breaking: Gordon Hayward is retiring from basketball, he announced on social media. pic.twitter.com/4mC8cJuIFx
— ESPN (@espn) August 1, 2024
Hayward had a long NBA career where he played 14 seasons. He played for the Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics, and Charlotte Hornets and wrapped up his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder. During his long career, Hayward logged 835 regular season games, averaging 15.2 PPG. Hayward had one All-Star season in 2017, averaging 21.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 3.5 APG, on almost 50% from the field and 40% from the three-point range.
After 14 NBA seasons, Gordon Hayward is retiring. Hayward, 34, was a 2017 NBA All-Star in Utah and played for the Jazz, Celtics, Hornets and Thunder across his career. He was the No. 9 pick in the 2010 Draft after starring at Butler. pic.twitter.com/VrzfA5TrT7
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 1, 2024
His career would be derailed by injuries after that All-Star season in 2017; he would have quite a brutal injury in his first game with the Celtics in 2018. Post-injury, Hayward was never the same, as he would only play over 50 games in two out of his last seven NBA seasons. After a tough playoff run with the Thunder this season, Hayward decided to hang it up and spend more time with his family.
Thank you 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/fqbw3WML0n
— Gordon Hayward (@gordonhayward) August 1, 2024
I look forward to seeing what comes next for Gordon Hayward in this post-NBA career.
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