“You know that you’re going to come back healthy and be the same person, if not close to the same person you were. “It’s more mental than anything,” Gay said on the team’s stop in Washington. He took encouragement from one of the game’s all-time greats, Kobe Bryant, who suffered the same injury early in the 2013-14 season at age 35. Gay said it took “about a year” to feel comfortable that his Achilles was 100%. Just having those guys with that experience and knowledge is priceless.”Ĭompounding the adjustment was the fact that Gay was in the process of coming back from what is often a career-altering injury. “He’s someone I’ve had a great relationship with so far. “Rudy’s seen a lot, done a lot, just his experience and his wisdom is always great,” Forbes said. Third-year guard Bryn Forbes said that having Gay as a teammate has helped in his own transition to the league. He’s just been somebody that guys look up to because of his experience and ability to get along with people.” He’s been a positive force for everybody. He’s been a great teammate, he’s been a good scorer off the bench for us. “You’re not a rookie, a young guy forever. “Every player goes through that, it’s no big deal,” Popovich said.
Popovich, who has seen several of his former stars make a similar transition during his quarter-century tenure with the Spurs, believes that Gay has done a great job in terms of meeting expectations. It’s not just about what he does on the court, but what happens during practice and in the locker room. Though his offensive game has not completely returned since the injury, Gay has found a new role. Popovich’s string of 22 straight playoff appearance is being seriously threatened. While the Spurs have seemingly recovered from a franchise-record eight-game losing streak, their 11-16 record through Friday puts them 10th in the Western Conference. He’s only averaged fewer than 26 minutes once in his career - the year after he tore his Achilles.īut the transition still hasn’t taken hold for one of the NBA’s most stable franchises. Gay is still a productive offensive player, given that before Saturday night’s game, he was averaging 10.9 points per game while playing just 23 minutes a game. I’m more of a veteran leader, not called upon to score points like I used to.” My role here is a little different than it has been with the teams before. It’s a tough job, not as easy as people may think. It takes a while to get familiar with coaches, players. It takes time to redirect your way of thinking. “Your role is switched and it takes time to get used to it. “The adjustment wasn’t easy for me at all,” he said.
With two extra months, Gay should be ready to go for San Antonio come late October.Gay said the transition to a new team and a new role is something that is finally taking hold. Wesley Matthews, one of the most recent Achilles injury cases, started the very first game for the Mavericks after suffering his in March. Still, he should be ready by the time the season starts, or shortly after. Gay is 30 and appears to be on the decline, but there’s a chance that he won’t even be the same player that he was last season when he averaged nearly 19 points on 46 percent shooting in the 30 games he played. An Achilles tendon injury is one of the worst muscular injuries in the NBA, and there’s a long history of players who suffer them never being the same. The other major concern for Gay is his ruptured Achilles, an injury he suffered last January. For a player going into his 12th NBA season with $118 million in career earnings, it’s understandable if winning was more important to him. On the other, though, the Spurs are one of the league’s top four or five teams, while the Kings are. On one hand, his new Spurs deal is up to $6 million less than he could have made.
RUDY GAY INJURY SAN ANTONIO SPURS FREE
Gay declined a $14 million option this summer to become a free agent, opting to choose his own path rather than return to the Sacramento Kings. The second year of the deal will have a player’s option. Rudy Gay and the San Antonio Spurs have agreed to a two-year deal worth $17 million, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.