Former BYU standout and NBA lottery pick Jimmer Fredette has announced his retirement from basketball, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press relays. Fredette published a social media post confirming the news (Twitter link).
“It’s time to say goodbye to basketball,” Fredette wrote. “I have loved every second of my career through the good and the bad! … Basketball has taken me all around this world: from Glens Falls NY, to BYU, the NBA, China, Greece, and even Team USA at the Olympics! This game and my love for it has shaped me into the person I am today and for that I am forever grateful. So many memories and amazing moments. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always worth it! The next journey starts now.”
An NCAA scoring champion and the Naismith College Player of the Year in his final season at BYU, Fredette was drafted 10th overall in 2011 on behalf of the Kings, who acquired his rights from Milwaukee in a draft-night deal.
The 6’2″ guard struggled to establish himself as a reliable NBA rotation player, averaging 6.0 points and 1.4 assists in 13.3 minutes per game across 241 career regular season appearances for Sacramento, Chicago, New Orleans, New York, and Phoenix from 2011-19.
Fredette, who is now 36, spent several years during his playing career overseas, establishing himself as a star in China with the Shanghai Sharks from 2016-19 and later returning to the Sharks for one more season. He also spent a year in Greece with Panathinaikos.
During the final act of his career, Fredette focused on 3×3 basketball and represented Team USA at several international competitions, including the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.
Fredette earned a variety of accolades over the course of his career, claiming MVP honors and three All-Star nods in the Chinese Basketball Association, winning a Greek League championship, and bringing home a pair of gold medals from the 2022 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup and 2023 Pan American Games.
Capital region represent
haha…And everyone you talk to here claims to know him!
Makes me sick this parasocial relationship people have. Obsessed with toktok and social media. Where does jammer check in on Facebook? Who cares. This is why demar derizan cant eat dinner in peace…smdh
Picked over Kawhi and Klay, lol F pick
…. until this summer’s TBT Million Dollar Tournament
I love Jimmer. He got everything out of his body that he could as far as basketball. Supreme College talent had a little run in the NBA, which is more than 99% of people, then parlay his skill set into a nice long professional career. Not many guys can say they played basketball and got paid for it up until age 36. Bravo.
Another thing I like about Jimmer is that he is a perfect example that shows how tough the NBA really is. Here’s a guy who is 6-2, strong, has decent handles, and can shoot from downtown college style (by that I mean without an NBA defender in his face.)
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a 510 or 6 foot guard say,
“if I was 6-3 I’d be in the NBA right now” or sometimes, “if I was 6-6 blah blah blah.”
I tell them go watch college tape of Jimmer Fredette and then look up his NBA career. Everything looks so easy on TV doesn’t it?
But bottom line, bravo to Jimmer Fredette for a nice professional basketball career. Most can only wish for such a life.
One of the great basketball names ever.
Every team whiffs in the draft Davey. Jokic was a second rounder. It was an eternity ago. Why be negative on a human interest story about a fun little player who is ending a “meaningful” career? Why not just say congrats? Why on earth would anyone trash jimmer fredette?