Former NBA and EuroLeague star Gustavo Ayon has officially announced his retirement from basketball at the age of 37.
The Mexican big man will play his last game on Sunday, when a team of his friends will play the Mexican national team.
“It didn’t take me long to make this decision. Throughout my career, I have learned to pay attention to my body, when I could do things well and when I couldn’t.
It takes more than 24 hours for me to recover after a game. I am retiring fully and at a good basketball level,” Gustavo Ayon told Marca, via ESPN.
The veteran big man made 138 appearances in the NBA between the Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks (2011-2014).
He then joined EuroLeague powerhouse Real Madrid and spent five years there (2014-2019), claiming the EuroLeague championships twice (2015, 2018) as well as the FIBA Intercontinental title in 2015, four domestic league championships, three Copa del Rey titles and two Supercopa.
Before moving to Puerto Rico, he spent the 2019/20 season in the EuroLeague with Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Gustavo Ayon spent 13 years with the national team of Mexico (2007-2020), representing his country in the 2014 Basketball World Cup, among other competitions.