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Chris Paul Sends Message to Ex-Grizzlies Star Retiring From NBA

Spurs point guard Chris Paul sent a message to a former Memphis Grizzlies star.

Kade Kimble

Oct 28, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) reacts after being called for a foul during the first half against the Houston Rockets at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) reacts after being called for a foul during the first half against the Houston Rockets at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
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On Tuesday, a 17-year NBA veteran announced his retirement from the sport of basketball. Rudy Gay, who had an incredible career with the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, decided to hang it up and retire from the sport.

Having never made the All-Star team, Gay was certainly a borderline star. Over the course of his career in Memphis, he averaged a stellar 17.9 points per contest, which came in 479 games, with most of those being starts.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Gay's retirement, as the member of the 2006 Draft was quite the journeyman in his career. Outside of spending time with the Grizzlies and Kings, he also helped the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz out during his time in the league.

During his long career, Gay appeared in 1,120 contests, averaging 15.8 points per game. Despite not having the accolades to show for it, the No. 6 overall pick in his respective draft had quite the career.

Following the announcement, Chris Paul -- a member of the 2005 NBA Draft -- sent a message to Gay via Instagram.

"Congrats on 18 years my brother," Paul shared on Instagram.

Paul is currently in year 20 of his NBA career, so he's certainly got respect for Gay, a longtime opponent of his. The two long-time NBA players squared off 40 times during their careers.

As is constantly stated by a variety of players, the NBA is a brotherhood, which is shown with Paul showing Gay his respect on Tuesday.

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Kade Kimble
KADE KIMBLE

Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's On SI in 2022.

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