Who is Rudy Gay? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Rudy Carlton Gay Jr.

Age: 37 Years, 37 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Ecko Wray (m. 2013)

father: Rudy Gay Sr.

mother: Rae Gay

siblings: Brett Gay, Candace Gay, Eric Gay, Yozmin Gay

Born Country: United States

Black Sportspersons Basketball Players

Height: 6'8" (203 cm), 6'8" Males

City: Baltimore, Maryland

U.S. State: Maryland, African-American From Maryland

More Facts

education: University Of Connecticut

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Childhood & Early Life

Rudy Carlton Gay Jr. was born on August 17, 1986, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. He started playing competitive basketball at age 12, and by 14, he was part of the well-known ‘Cecil-Kirk’ program of the ‘Amateur Athletic Union’ (AAU).

He attended the ‘Eastern Technical High School,’ a magnet school in Essex, Baltimore County, which is where he played his freshman and sophomore seasons of high-school basketball. However, his parents became concerned about his preparation for college at ‘Eastern Tech,’ despite it being a ‘Blue Ribbon’ academic institution. During his junior year, in September 2002, Gay was transferred to the ‘Archbishop Spalding High School,’ a private Catholic co-ed school in Severn, Maryland.

While playing for ‘Archbishop Spalding,’ Gay became a first-team choice for the ‘All-Baltimore Catholic League’ (All-BCL) and was chosen by the ‘Baltimore Sun’ as the “co-player of the year” for his senior year, during which he scored an average of 21.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game.

He chose to play college basketball at the ‘University of Connecticut’ ahead of the ‘University of Maryland,’ averaging 11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 28.8 minutes in 31 games as a freshman. He made 15.2 points (the leading average for the ‘UConn Huskies’), 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 30.8 minutes in 33 games in his sophomore year.

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Professional Career

Gay declared for the 2006 ‘NBA Draft’ on April 24, 2006, and was picked up as the eighth overall by the ‘Houston Rockets.’ A few days later, on July 12, he was traded to the ‘Memphis Grizzlies,’ where he averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 27 minutes in his rookie season.

He created a franchise record for points in a single season, with 1,632 points, scoring a career-high average of 20.1 points in his second season with the ‘Grizzlies.’ By 2010–2011, he had established himself as one of the top small forwards in the ‘NBA,’ recording career-high scores in seven major statistical categories that season.

On July 8, 2010, he signed a new 5-year contract with the ‘Grizzlies,’ worth US$ 82 million, and on February 2, 2012, he surpassed Shane Battier as the number one all-time leader in steals for the franchise.

After six fruitful seasons with the ‘Grizzlies,’ he was finally traded off to the ‘Toronto Raptors’ on January 30, 2013, where he set a franchise record by scoring 74 points in his first three games. Less than a year later, on December 9, 2013, the ‘Raptors’ traded him to the ‘Sacramento Kings.’

Toward the end of the 2014–2015 season, Gay began encountering a series of periodic injuries that hampered his game and game-time, starting with a concussion from an on-court collision with former ‘Grizzlies’ teammate Marc Gasol. On January 18, 2017, he ruptured his left Achilles tendon, thus missing the remainder of his last season on contract with the ‘Kings.’

As a fully recovered free agent, he signed a season-long arrangement with the ‘San Antonio Spurs’ on July 6, 2017, but in December the same year, he suffered a right-heel injury that kept him out of action for several weeks. The ‘Spurs’ went on to re-sign him on July 11, 2018. Following the completion of the season, they offered him a lucrative 2-year contract on July 8, 2019.

In the 126 games he played over his two seasons with the ‘Spurs,’ Gay averaged 12.7 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists in 24.4 minutes. His ‘NBA’ career averages currently stand at 17.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.26 steals in 34 minutes.

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Awards & Achievements

During his high-school basketball days, Gay was named ‘Washington Post’s ‘All-Met Basketball Player of the Year,’ a McDonald ‘All-American,’ and a ‘Parade First-Team All-American,’ all in 2004.

He was deemed a “five-star” recruit by ‘Rivals.com’ and listed as the second-best small forward and the fifth-best minor player in the US for 2004. Gay was inducted into the ‘Huskies of Honor’ hall of fame at his alma mater, ‘University of Connecticut,’ in February 2012.

As a college basketballer, he was a co-winner of the ‘Big East Conference Rookie of the Year’ award and a unanimous ‘Big East All-Rookie Team’ pick, in 2005. He was also named the ‘National Freshman of the Year’ by ‘The Sporting News’ after receiving the ‘Big East Rookie of the Week’ title five times.

Before his sophomore season in college, Gay was nominated for the ‘Big East Pre-Season Player of the Year.’ During the post-season period, he received a ‘Naismith College Player of the Year Award’ nomination. He was also a unanimous pick for the ‘First-team All-Big East’ (2006) and was named to the ‘Consensus Second-Team All-American’ by the ‘NABC’ and to the ‘2006 Washington, D.C. Regional All-Tournament Team.’

As a professional, he received the ‘NBA Rookie of the Month’ title in November 2006. He was also named to the 2006–2007 ‘All-Rookie First Team.’ He finished third in the balloting for the ‘Rookie of the Year Award’ that season and also finished as the runners-up for the 2007–2008 ‘NBA Most Improved Player Award.’

Gay has represented the United States as part of its national team for the ‘Men's Under-21 World Championship’ (2005). He was also part of the ‘FIBA World Championship’ gold-medal-winning team (2010) and the ‘FIBA Basketball World Cup’-winning team (2014).

He was awarded the ‘NBA Cares Community Assist Award’ for the month of March 2010 for his community-related work and his support activities for the ‘St. Jude Children's Research Hospital’ in Memphis, Tennessee.

Family & Personal Life

Rudy married his long-time girlfriend, Ecko Wray, on August 5, 2013, in Aspen, Colorado. The couple had been dating since 2004 and got engaged in October 2012. The two have a daughter, Mace, born in 2014.

Gay has appeared on various TV programs and sports shows over the years, including ‘The Game’ (2008), ‘Poet Pride’ (2009), ‘Rome Is Burning’ (2011), ‘MVP’ (2017), and ‘NBA on YES’ (2019).

In 2010, he became an ambassador for the ‘Hoops for St. Jude’ fundraiser and personally donated US$ 22,222 to the ‘St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,’ besides making the ‘NBA’ donate another US$ 5,000 on his behalf.

Rudy Gay Biography