Rudy Gay facts for kids
Gay with the Sacramento Kings in 2013
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Born | August 17, 1986 New York City, New York, U.S. |
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| High school |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| College | UConn (2004–2006) | ||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2006 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall | ||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Houston Rockets | |||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2006–2023 | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2013 | Memphis Grizzlies | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Toronto Raptors | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2017 | Sacramento Kings | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | San Antonio Spurs | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Utah Jazz | ||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||
| Points | 17,642 (15.8 ppg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 6,283 (5.6 rpg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Assists | 2,280 (2.0 apg) | ||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Rudy Carlton Gay Jr. (born August 17, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played as a forward. Rudy played college basketball for the UConn Huskies. He was picked eighth overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. A few days later, he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Contents
Early Life and High School Basketball
Rudy Gay was born in Brooklyn, New York. He started playing competitive basketball at age 12 in Dundalk, Maryland. When he was 14, he joined the famous Cecil-Kirk AAU program.
Rudy played his first two years of high school basketball at Eastern Technical High School in Essex. His team, the Mavericks, made it to the state semi-finals once. In September 2002, he moved to Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn.
At Spalding, Rudy became a top player. He was named first-team All-Baltimore Catholic League as a junior and senior. In his senior year, he was the Washington Post All-Met Basketball Player of the Year. He was also a McDonald's All-American and a Parade first-team All-American. He averaged 21.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game. Experts like Rivals.com saw him as the second-best small forward in the nation in 2004.
College Career at UConn
As a freshman at UConn in 2004–05, Rudy Gay was a co-winner of the Big East Conference Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year award. He averaged 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He was also named National Freshman of the Year by The Sporting News.
In the summer of 2005, Rudy played for the United States' Men's Under-21 World Championship Team. He averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds during the tournament.
Before his second year, Rudy was nominated as Big East Preseason Player of the Year. He was also one of four college players nominated for the Naismith College Player of the Year Award. He led the Huskies in scoring with 15.2 points per game. He also averaged 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
Rudy helped the Huskies get a great 30–3 record. He finished his college career with 20 points and six rebounds in a game against George Mason. On April 24, 2006, Rudy Gay decided to enter the 2006 NBA draft. In February 2012, he was honored by UConn and added to the "Huskies of Honor."
Professional Basketball Career
Memphis Grizzlies (2006–2013)
The Houston Rockets picked Rudy Gay eighth overall in the 2006 NBA draft. But they traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies right away. In his first year, Rudy averaged 10.8 points and 4.5 rebounds. He was named NBA Rookie of the Month in November 2006. He also made the 2006–07 All-Rookie First Team.
In his second season (2007–08), Rudy set a Grizzlies record for points in one season (1,632). He averaged a career-high 20.1 points per game. He took part in the 2008 Rising Stars Slam Dunk Contest. He finished second for the 2007–08 NBA Most Improved Player Award.
On December 13, 2009, Rudy scored a career-high 41 points against the Miami Heat. This tied a team record for points in a win. In the 2009–10 season, he was second on his team in scoring with 19.6 points per game.
On July 8, 2010, Rudy signed a new five-year contract with the Grizzlies. In the 2010–11 season, he had career highs in assists, steals, blocks, and shooting percentages. He missed the end of that season and the 2011 Playoffs due to a shoulder injury. He watched as the Grizzlies surprised everyone by beating the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round.
In the 2011–12 season, Rudy led the Grizzlies in scoring with 19.0 points per game. He also averaged a career-high 6.4 rebounds. He made his first playoff appearance that year.
Toronto Raptors (2013)
On January 30, 2013, the Grizzlies traded Rudy to the Toronto Raptors. This was part of a three-team trade. Rudy scored 74 points in his first three games with the Raptors, which was a team record. The Raptors did not make the playoffs that season. Rudy was the first player since 2003–04 to lead two different teams in scoring in the same season. He averaged 19.5 points and 6.4 rebounds with Toronto.
Sacramento Kings (2013–2017)
On December 9, 2013, the Raptors traded Rudy to the Sacramento Kings. On January 22, 2014, he tied his career high with 41 points against the New Orleans Pelicans.
On October 31, 2014, Rudy scored 40 points in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers. He signed a new three-year contract with the Kings in November 2014. Rudy had one of his best seasons in 2014–15, averaging 21.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.
On November 25, 2015, Rudy scored a season-high 36 points. On December 15, 2015, he had a career-high 6 steals. On January 18, 2017, Rudy tore his left Achilles tendon. This injury made him miss the rest of the season.
San Antonio Spurs (2017–2021)
On July 6, 2017, Rudy Gay signed with the San Antonio Spurs. He had a right heel injury in December 2017 and missed a few weeks.
On July 11, 2018, Rudy re-signed with the Spurs. On October 29, 2018, he scored 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and had six steals. On December 5, he scored a season-high 31 points.
Utah Jazz (2021–2023)
On August 6, 2021, Rudy Gay signed with the Utah Jazz. On December 29, he scored 21 points coming off the bench.
In July 2023, Rudy was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. A few days later, he was traded again to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was then waived by the Thunder. On September 28, 2023, Rudy signed with the Golden State Warriors but was waived before the season started.
Retirement
On October 29, 2024, Rudy Gay announced that he was retiring from basketball.
National Team Career
In 2010, Rudy Gay helped the United States win its first FIBA World Championship gold medal since 1994. He averaged 7.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He was also part of the national team in 2014 that won another gold medal at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Both times, the U.S. team was undefeated.
Career Statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Memphis | 78 | 43 | 27.0 | .422 | .364 | .727 | 4.5 | 1.3 | .9 | .9 | 10.8 |
| 2007–08 | Memphis | 81 | 81 | 37.0 | .461 | .346 | .785 | 6.2 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 20.1 |
| 2008–09 | Memphis | 79 | 78 | 37.3 | .453 | .351 | .767 | 5.5 | 1.7 | 1.2 | .7 | 18.9 |
| 2009–10 | Memphis | 80 | 80 | 39.7 | .466 | .327 | .752 | 5.9 | 1.9 | 1.5 | .8 | 19.6 |
| 2010–11 | Memphis | 54 | 54 | 39.9 | .471 | .396 | .805 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 19.8 |
| 2011–12 | Memphis | 65 | 65 | 37.3 | .455 | .312 | .791 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 1.5 | .8 | 19.0 |
| 2012–13 | Memphis | 42 | 42 | 36.7 | .408 | .310 | .776 | 5.9 | 2.6 | 1.3 | .7 | 17.2 |
| 2012–13 | Toronto | 33 | 32 | 34.7 | .425 | .336 | .856 | 6.4 | 2.8 | 1.7 | .7 | 19.5 |
| 2013–14 | Toronto | 18 | 18 | 35.5 | .388 | .373 | .773 | 7.4 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 19.4 |
| 2013–14 | Sacramento | 55 | 55 | 34.4 | .482 | .312 | .836 | 5.5 | 3.1 | 1.2 | .6 | 20.1 |
| 2014–15 | Sacramento | 68 | 67 | 35.4 | .455 | .359 | .858 | 5.9 | 3.7 | 1.0 | .6 | 21.1 |
| 2015–16 | Sacramento | 70 | 70 | 34.0 | .463 | .344 | .780 | 6.5 | 1.7 | 1.4 | .7 | 17.2 |
| 2016–17 | Sacramento | 30 | 30 | 33.8 | .455 | .372 | .855 | 6.3 | 2.7 | 1.5 | .9 | 18.7 |
| 2017–18 | San Antonio | 57 | 6 | 21.6 | .471 | .314 | .772 | 5.1 | 1.3 | .8 | .7 | 11.5 |
| 2018–19 | San Antonio | 69 | 51 | 26.7 | .504 | .402 | .816 | 6.8 | 2.6 | .8 | .5 | 13.7 |
| 2019–20 | San Antonio | 67 | 5 | 21.8 | .466 | .336 | .882 | 5.4 | 1.7 | .5 | .5 | 10.8 |
| 2020–21 | San Antonio | 63 | 1 | 21.6 | .420 | .381 | .804 | 4.8 | 1.4 | .7 | .6 | 11.4 |
| 2021–22 | Utah | 55 | 1 | 18.9 | .414 | .345 | .785 | 4.4 | 1.0 | .5 | .3 | 8.1 |
| 2022–23 | Utah | 56 | 0 | 14.6 | .380 | .254 | .857 | 2.9 | 1.0 | .3 | .3 | 5.2 |
| Career | 1,120 | 779 | 30.9 | .452 | .346 | .799 | 5.6 | 2.0 | 1.1 | .7 | 15.8 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Memphis | 7 | 7 | 39.9 | .421 | .211 | .825 | 6.6 | 1.4 | 1.3 | .3 | 19.0 |
| 2018 | San Antonio | 5 | 4 | 32.0 | .400 | .222 | .556 | 5.6 | 2.2 | 1.6 | .2 | 12.2 |
| 2019 | San Antonio | 7 | 0 | 25.6 | .400 | .421 | .824 | 7.1 | 1.7 | .4 | .7 | 11.1 |
| Career | 19 | 11 | 32.5 | .410 | .286 | .788 | 6.5 | 1.7 | 1.1 | .4 | 14.3 | |
College statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Connecticut | 31 | 26 | 28.8 | .462 | .467 | .708 | 5.4 | 1.5 | .8 | 1.9 | 11.8 |
| 2005–06 | Connecticut | 33 | 33 | 30.8 | .461 | .318 | .732 | 6.4 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 15.2 |
| Career | 64 | 59 | 29.8 | .461 | .378 | .721 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 13.6 |
Personal Life and Charity Work
In 2010, Rudy Gay became an ambassador for "Hoops for St. Jude." This program raises money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He donated $20,000 to the program.
In April 2010, Rudy received the NBA Cares Community Assist Award. This award recognized his help in the Memphis community. The NBA also donated $5,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on his behalf. Rudy, who wore number 22 for Memphis, personally gave $22,222 to the hospital.
In 2013, Rudy married his longtime girlfriend, Ecko Wray. They have two children together. He is also a second cousin to another NBA player, Bub Carrington.
See also
In Spanish: Rudy Gay para niños
