2024-08-01 23:30:02
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Veteran forward Gordon Hayward is retiring from the NBA after 14 seasons, he announced Thursday on social media.
Hayward, 34, split the 2023-24 season between the Charlotte Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder acquired Hayward for a stint in the second half of the season as they made a playoff push. Oklahoma City earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference before being eliminated in the second round.
Hayward did not score a single point in the Thunder’s playoff run, and his acquisition was considered a “miss” by general manager 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.”
An All-Star in 2017, Hayward never quite recaptured his form after suffering a fractured tibia and dislocated ankle during his first game with the Boston Celtics during the 2017-18 season.
Overall, Hayward averaged 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game during his career. He peaked during his seven-year tenure with the Utah Jazz as one of the NBA’s most versatile offensive wings.
Hayward is also one of the greatest players in Butler’s basketball history. He led the Bulldogs to the NCAA national championship game in 2010, narrowly missing a half-court shot as the buzzer expired that would have given Butler a title.
