'Darkest times of my life': Minneapolis native Tyrell Terry retires from NBA at 22
Minneapolis native and former DeLasalle High School student-athlete Tyrell Terry says he's retiring from the NBA after experiencing "the darkest times" of his life.
The 22-year-old was drafted 31st overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2020 NBA Draft, going pro after one year at Stanford where he was one of the top freshmen in the country.
"Today I decided to let go of the game that has formed a large part of my identity. Something that has guided my path since I took my first steps. While I have achieved amazing accomplishments, created unforgettable memories, and made lifelong friends…I’ve also experienced the darkest times of my life. To the point where instead of building me up, it began to destroy me," Terry wrote.
"Where I began to despise and question the value of myself, much more than those surrounding me could ever see or know. Intrusive thoughts, waking up nauseous, and finding myself struggling to take normal breaths because of the rock that would sit on my chest that seemed to weigh more than I could carry. This is just a brief description of the anxiety this sport has caused me, and while I’m grateful for every door it has opened for me, I can’t continue this fight any longer for something I have fallen out of love with."
Terry was an All-State player at DeLaSalle, where he helped lead the Islanders to three state championships in his four seasons on the varsity team. He was one of four Minnesotans drafted in 2020:
- Zeke Nnaji (Hopkins) went 22nd to Denver
- Tyrell Terry (DeLaSalle) went 31st to Dallas
- Daniel Oturu (Cretin-Derham Hall) went 33rd to the L.A. Clippers
- Tre Jones (Apple Valley) went 41st to San Antonio
"I’m headed down a different path now, one that will hopefully lead to happiness and being able to love myself again," Terry said.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.