NBA
Ex-NBA Dunk Champion Terrence Ross announced his retirement from professional basketball
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All posts by Antonio KozlowUpdated06 Dec 2023
It was only a bit over three months ago when Terrence Ross confirmed he had received an offer to play for Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Europe, a proposal he hailed as a great opportunity for him to revive his basketball career and end it with a cherry on top.
“If there is an opportunity to return to Serbia together with my family and live there for a certain period of time, that is something I would certainly think about because it has enormous sentimental importance. If I was going to play overseas, that’s the only option,” assured the 32-year-old.
The NBA veteran never made it to the EuroLeague and now he’s decided to retire for good. After the 2022/23 season came to an end, the former Slam Dunk Contest champion had been a free agent and never received the proposition he was looking for.
Terrence Ross is retiring from the NBA.
The 2013 Dunk Champ is one of the best in-game dunkers ever!
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 2, 2023
On December 1, after months of waiting, he’s realized how much he enjoys spending time with his family. “I think now, especially since some time has passed, I’m done,” Ross shared on his own podcast. “I’m starting to see how much I love being at home and just playing the dad role, just being part of my family.”
During his NBA career, Terrence played for the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic and finally the Phoenix Suns. After appearing in a total of 733 contests, the guard averaged 11 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 threes per contest.
“I’m watching these games and, instead of thinking like, ‘God, I really miss being out there,’ the first thing that came to my head was like, ‘okay, Boston is playing New York’,” Ross revealed certain apathy.
The same day he officially announced he’s hanging his basketball shoes, the veteran appeared at last weekend’s Washington Wizards game in Orlando, and received a special ovation for the fans attending the exhibition.
After more than a decade in the NBA, Ross will be remembered as one of the best dunkers in the league’s history
Back in March, former Suns head coach Monty Williams praised Terrence’s skill set, explaining how he would still be useful for any team in the league. “It gives us another guy that can get his own shot, but he can also space the floor and knock down some threes,” he said last season.
The veteran guard was Toronto’s first-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, with the 8th overall selection. He achieved some of his best displays with the Raptors, back when he scored a career-best 51 points against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014, and tied Vince Carter’s franchise’s single-game scoring record.
The truth is, Ross will be remembered as one of the best dunkers in the history of the NBA. In the video below, check out the performance that crowned him the champion of the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest:
Midway through the 2016/17 campaign he got traded to Orlando, and lasted seven-long seasons wearing the Magic jersey. When his contract bought out, he became a free agent and eventually landed in Phoenix, where he barely had any playing time and sometimes contributed off the bench.
The athlete who came out of Washington over a decade ago, became only the second Toronto star to ever conquer the Slam Dunk competition.
