Tyrell Terry Retires From NBA At 22, Cites Mental Health
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Tyrell Terry has announced his retirement from the NBA at 22-years-old, citing anxiety and losing his love for the game.
On Thursday (Dec. 15), the former pro revealed his decision in an open letter on his Instagram account, explaining the factors that led to him becoming disillusioned with his career.
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“This message is a very difficult one to share and an emotional one to write,” Tyrell wrote in the caption of the post, which included a slide of photos from key moments throughout his basketball journey. “Today I decided to let go of the game that has formed a large part of my identity. Something that has guided my path since I took my first steps.”
Acknowledging his success and accomplishments throughout his career, he admits that pursuing basketball has resulted in “the darkest times of my life.” He also describes the anxiety he experienced as suffocating, noting the impact it had on him physically.
“Instead of building me up, it began to destroy me,” he added. “Where I began to despise and question the value of myself, much more than those surrounding me could ever see or know. Intrusive thoughts, waking up nauseous, and finding myself struggling to take normal breaths because of the rock that would sit on my chest that seemed to weigh more than I could carry. This is just a brief description of the anxiety this sport has caused me.”
Declaring that he’ll be regarded “as a bust, a failure, or a waste of talent,” Terry remains optimistic that his best years and biggest wins are ahead of him, in spite of what some would deem a lackluster stint in the league. “While those may be true when it comes to basketball, it is the biggest failures in life that lead to the greatest success. There is more for me out in this vast world and I am extremely excited to be able to explore that.”
Focused on exploring his identity outside of basketball, the retiree expresses his appreciation for his supporters while apologizing to those he may have disappointed by walking away from the game.
“I am eternally grateful to those who have believed in me and apologize to those that I have let down,” he said. “But I’m headed down a different path now, one that will hopefully lead to happiness and being able to love myself again.”
A high school standout at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, Terry was named a finalist for the Minnesota Mr. Basketball award and accepted an athletic scholarship to Stanford University. As a freshman, he averaged 14.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention. Terry decided to leave school and enter the 2020 NBA Draft following his lone year at Stanford and was selected with the first pick in the draft’s second round (No. 31 overall) by the Dallas Mavericks.
The three-point specialist would play 11 games for the Mavs during his rookie year, spending most of the season playing in the G League for the Memphis Hustlers. He was waived by the Mavericks in October 2021 before joining the Memphis Grizzlies in December of that year on a 10-day contract. On New Years Day 2022, the Grizzlies signed Terry to a two-way contract before waiving him in July 2022.
