Getting old is one of the most challenging parts of being in the NBA. Eventually, every athlete hits a wall, and their skills evaporate into thin air. It's extremely tough for many of these guys to deal with, leading to many becoming shells of themselves before they call it a career.
Two guys who managed to do a decent job staving off their old age later in their careers were Rudy Gay and Carmelo Anthony . As Gay recently shared, though, a quick conversation with Anthony midway through a game late in their careers helped him realize he was getting old.
The reality hit Gay
After being selected as the eighth overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Rudy averaged double-digit points for the first 15 years of his career. Once he landed with the Utah Jazz for his final two seasons, though, his smaller role made it more challenging to reach that scoring threshold.
Similarly, Anthony experienced a big change in his role when he was reduced to a spot-up shooter for the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. During a game between these two, Gay quickly realized he was getting older when talking to a similarly aging Melo.
"We was in Portland, and we played y'all," Rudy said on 7PM In Brooklyn. "I'm sitting over there, I'm going through this game, and I see Melo standing up; I'm thinking to myself, 'I gotta get in the game.' I told Melo, 'I'm not leaving this game without scoring at least ten points. I cannot do it.' That's when you know you getting old. I'm like, 'Damn, ten points now?'"
The challenge of getting old
For the most part, teams knew what they were getting from Gay throughout his career. He could score at a decent clip and chip in on the boards, but wasn't a great passer and was only an average defender. Once he got to Utah, though, the 6'8" forward found it harder to produce at a consistent level. As a result, Rudy worked incredibly hard to do what he had done virtually his entire career: reach double digits in points.
That is the struggle that almost every professional athlete, not just NBA players, comes across at some point in their career. When is it time to accept that your skills have disappeared and that putting in the work to stay on the court is no longer worth it?
Gay still hasn't technically retired from the NBA, but he didn't play at all after getting waived by the Golden State Warriors before the 2023-24 campaign began. And while he could still technically return, it seems like he knows that his time in the NBA is likely over.
Related: "You was in some nasty towns" - Carmelo Anthony's hilarious realization when looking back on Rudy Gay's NBA career
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