Veteran Gordon Hayward announces retirement from NBA

Former NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward announced his retirement on Thursday.

Thank you 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/fqbw3WML0n

— Gordon Hayward (@gordonhayward) August 1, 2024

Hayward, 34, was the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft from Butler, where he was the Horizon League Player of the Year and led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament championship game against Duke in his final season. His half-court heave at the buzzer just missed in the Bulldogs’ 61-59 loss.

He spent the first seven years of his NBA career with the Utah Jazz before stints with the Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder. With the Jazz in 2016-17, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 21.9 points per game and was named to his lone All-Star team.

After signing with Boston the following offseason, Hayward severely injured his left leg just a few minutes into his first game with the Celtics, a gruesome moment that brought the Cleveland crowd to a hush in the season opener and left players and fans in shock. Hayward had his leg placed in an air cast, was stretchered off the Quicken Loans Arena floor and missed the remainder of the season.

Injuries continued to mar the latter part of his career. After playing 72 games in 2018-19, Hayward never played more than 52 games in a regular season.

The Hornets traded Hayward to the Thunder last season after he spent three-plus seasons with Charlotte. Hayward played 26 regular-season games for Oklahoma City, averaging 5.3 points per game. He saw action in seven playoff games as the top-seeded Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round before losing to the Dallas Mavericks.

In his career, Hayward averaged 15.2 points per game and shot 37 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

(Photo: Alonzo Adams / USA Today)