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Gordon Hayward Ends NBA Career After 14 Seasons

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Updated01 Aug 2024

Gordon Hayward Ends NBA Career After 14 Seasons

Gordon Hayward has retired from the NBA after 14 seasons, he announced Thursday on social media. “Today, I am officially retiring from the game of basketball,” Hayward wrote. “It’s been an incredible ride and I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me achieve more than I ever imagined.”

Gordon Hayward was selected ninth overall by the Utah Jazz in the 2010 NBA draft out of Butler University

Hayward, 34, was selected ninth overall by the Utah Jazz in the 2010 NBA draft out of Butler University. He played his first seven seasons (2010-17) with Utah before joining the Boston Celtics in 2017. The 6-foot-7, 225-pounder played three seasons (2017-20) with the Celtics and his next 3½ (2021-24) with the Charlotte Hornets.

In 835 career NBA games (649 starts), he averaged 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steal, and 30.7 minutes per game while shooting 45.5% from the field, 37% from 3-point range, and 82.2% at the free throw line.

While with the Jazz in the 2016-17 season, he averaged a career-high 21.9 points, a then-career-best 5.4 rebounds, and shot a then-career-best 84.4% at the foul line. The Indiana native received his lone All-Star selection that season.

During Boston’s 2017-18 season opener, Hayward suffered a season-ending fractured tibia and dislocated ankle in his left leg in his first regular-season game in a Celtics uniform.

Since suffering that gruesome leg injury, he never seemed to recapture his form.

Hayward set new career scoring records with the Charlotte Hornets

Nonetheless, Gordon Hayward arguably unlocked his NBA offensive potential with the Hornets.

In Charlotte’s 102-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 6, 2021, he recorded a career-high 44 points on 15-of-25 (60%) shooting from the floor, 4-of-9 (44.4%) from beyond the arc, and 10-of-12 (83.3%) at the line.

Eleven months later on Dec. 15, 2021, he posted a season-high 41 points at San Antonio on 15-of-19 (78.9%) shooting from the field, five 3-pointers, and six made free throws.

At the midseason trade deadline this past February, Hayward was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, a 2024 second-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, and cash considerations.

Last season, Gordon Hayward averaged 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 51 games with the Hornets and Thunder. OKC traded for the 2017 All-Star to help bolster its frontcourt.

However, he didn’t score a point in seven playoff games. His acquisition was considered a “miss” by Thunder G.M. Sam Presti.

“I missed on that,” Presti told reporters. “That’s on me. But I’m learning, I’m trying to learn this team, I’m trying to learn the pace of the team a little bit. And trying to be a great observer of the team as it’s going through its paces, knowing that it’s really going to change on its own in and of itself.”

Hayward is also one of Butler’s greatest basketball players.

As a two-time first-team All-Horizon League member, he led the Bulldogs to the 2010 NCAA National Championship. He won the Horizon League Player of the Year that season as well.