He was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the eighth overall pick and then was traded a couple days later to the Memphis Grizzlies.Īfter spending just over three years in Sacramento, Gay decided to join a playoff contender in the Spurs and took a fairly significant pay cut in doing so. Gay announced that he would enter the 2006 NBA Draft after his sophomore year. In his 2004-05 freshman year, Gay collected the Big East Rookie of the Year award after averaging 11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Gay was named to the 2005-06 All-America Second Team. He led the Huskies to the Elite Eight in the 2006 NCAA Tournament before losing to George Mason in overtime. The Baltimore, Maryland native earned All-Big East First Team honors on the strength of those accomplishments, which came in what was his sophomore campaign. Gay also founded the Flight 22 Foundation in his hometown of Baltimore, with the aim to serve "as the runway to helping school-aged children in under served communities take flight." Learn more about Gay by following him on Twitter and on Instagram Gay led the University of Connecticut in points (15.2) and steals (1.8) per game while checking in second on the team in assists (2.1) and third in rebounds (6.4) during the 2005-06 season. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Gay kicked in another $22,222 of his own money. That resulted in a $5,000 donation from the NBA to the St. As a result of his actions, Gay was awarded the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for March of 2010. Gay donated $20,000 to the program, which raised funds by allowing donors to pledge a set amount of money for each point scored by Gay and other participating NBA players. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. In 2010, he was named an ambassador for the Hoops for St. Since joining the NBA, Gay has taken part in a number of charitable activities. He was named the Baltimore Sun's co-player of the year, the Washington Post All-Met Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American and a Parade first-team All-American.
During his senior year, Gay averaged 21.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game. He played basketball for Spalding for two years, earning first team All-Baltimore Catholic League honors as a junior and senior. Gay attended Eastern Technical High School in Essex, Maryland, for two years before transferring to Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Maryland, during his junior year. He began playing competitive recreational basketball in his hometown of Baltimore when he was 12 years old. was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Rae and Rudy Sr. Gay's ability to shoulder a hefty burden at this stage bodes well for his bill of health moving forward and he will have the opportunity to reclaim his fantasy value as one of the team's go-to options.Rudy Carlton Gay Jr. He was making just his third start in the last 13 games because of a lingering injury but was able to log 35 minutes just two days after returning from the latest flareup. Gay led the team in scoring as DeMarcus Cousins struggled and was the only King to attempt more than 11 field goal attempts. Gay scored 23 points (9-17 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 3-4 FT) and added three assists, two steals, two blocks and one rebound in 35 minutes during Sunday's 117-106 loss to the Warriors.