Rudy Gay's NBA career may not have gone exactly the way he wanted, but it was still successful, all things considered. It's officially in the past, though, as the 38-year-old is walking away from the game.

Gay is retiring after 17 seasons, via ESPN's Shams Charania.

“Gay, the No. 8 pick in the 2006 Draft out of UConn, averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds across 1,120 career games for the [Memphis] Grizzlies, [Toronto] Raptors, [Sacramento] Kings, [San Antonio] Spurs and [Utah] Jazz,” Charania said.

Gay was drafted eighth overall by the Houston Rockets out of UConn after a standout collegiate career that included consensus second-team All-American honors in 2006. The Rockets traded the Maryland native to Memphis, where he played until 2013. He won NBA All-Rookie First Team honors in 2007.

Rudy Gay's NBA career wasn't perfect, but he's grateful

Former NBA players Scotty Pippen and Rudy Gay sit court side during the first half between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Philadelphia 76ers at FedExForum.
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Gay opened up about the trials and tribulations of his NBA journey, via The Players' Tribune.

“My story, it’s not some fairy tale. In the end, I guess I would say it was … complicated. Just in terms of how it all worked out. The injuries sucked, for sure,” he said. And, for whatever reason, there were a number of times when I ended up with teams in the middle of situations that were just not ideal, or teams dealing with some sort of internal turmoil.”

Gay never played on championship-contending squads, as he finished with a career 7-12 playoff record. However, the two-time FIBA World Cup gold medalist had plenty of individual success, setting the Grizzlies' franchise record for most single-season points (1,632) and highest scoring average (20.1 points) in 2007-08. The injury bug bit him at inopportune times, though, such as when he missed the entire 2011 playoffs after a career year.

“In those moments, of course it was difficult. And at times it almost felt like it was becoming too much,” Gay admitted. “But at this point? At the end of the line? I can’t be upset about those things forever, you know what I mean? Spend the rest of my life thinking about what-ifs? Be all pissed off and bitter and grumpy? Like, be that guy? No thanks.”

At the end of the day, Gay lived a dream that only a minuscule percentage of hoopers worldwide have achieved. Why lament over it?