Gordon Hayward announces retirement from NBA, Butler, Brownsburg

Brownsburg High School and Butler basketball legend Gordon Hayward announced his retirement on social media Thursday.

“God has blessed me with an amazing journey, one that has taken turns that I could never have expected or dreamed of as a child in Brownsburg, Indiana,” his message began.

New to the Butler Hall of Fame: Gordon Hayward, Matt Howard, Shelvin Mack

Recruitment: Another McCaffery brother leaves Iowa, joining Butler

The 34-year-old thanked his family, coaches, teammates, trainers, doctors, friends and agent.

“To all my fans: Thank you for supporting me through the ups and downs. I will always cherish the letters of encouragement and the moments we shared around the world,” he wrote. “You’ve inspired me to always dream big and improve every day – and for the young players below, I challenge you to do the same!”

Hayward led Brownsburg to the 2008 Class 4A state championship with a buzzer-beater against Marion and was an Indiana All-Star.

At Butler, Hayward started right away and averaged 13.1 points and 6.5 rebounds as a freshman. In the Bulldogs’ 2010 finals run, he averaged 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds.

Hayward played 14 NBA seasons, the first seven in Utah, after being selected ninth overall in the 2010 NBA draft. He played in the 2017 All-Star Game on his way to averaging 21.9 points per game , a career high, as well as 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He improved his scoring average each season with the Jazz.

Hayward signed with the Boston Celtics in 2016, but suffered a serious foot injury 6 minutes into the season opener. He returned the following season and played in Boston through 2019-20. He played over three seasons for the Charlotte Hornets before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder midway through last season.

Gordon Hayward points out

He made a layup to lift Brownsburg to a 40-39 victory over Marion in the 2008 Class 4A state championship game.

Oddly enough, Hayward’s most watched highlight at Butler was a shot he missed. He led the Bulldogs to a 25-game winning streak and the 2010 national championship game. He hit a half-court shot at the buzzer against Duke that went out.