A former Cleveland Cavaliers playoff piece is ready to write his memoirs.
Veteran NBA swingman Rodney Hood revealed to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin this week that he has retired from basketball. In a lengthy statement, Hood issued many thank yous and added that “it was tough to retire” but said that he was looking forward to his next chapter, noting that he would like to coach.
You can read Hood’s full statement below.
Rodney Hood told ESPN he is retiring after 8 seasons in the NBA with UTA, CLE, POR, TOR, MIL and LAC. The 6-8 guard/forward made a comeback attempt with the Memphis Hustle in the G League last season before another injury told him it was time. pic.twitter.com/N7Ty7KR1fv
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 21, 2024
The 32-year-old Hood, a former Duke standout, was the No. 23 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He was a talented scorer at 6-foot-8, averaging 10.4 points per game on 36.6 percent shooting from three over his eight career seasons (with the Utah Jazz, Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, and LA Clippers).
Some of Hood’s best moments in the NBA came in the postseason. He was part of three total playoff runs with three different teams, including hitting a game-winner for Portland in a 4-OT second-round game against the Denver Nuggets and also getting run off the bench for Cleveland during their 2018 Finals series against the Golden State Warriors.
RODNEY HOOD STEALS GAME 3 IN 4OT
PORTLAND GOES UP 2-1 pic.twitter.com/Jf5IkD3eJx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 4, 2019
But as Hood noted in his farewell post, he suffered a torn Achilles in the 2019-20 campaign and then got injured again last season with the Memphis Hustle of the G League while trying to gear up for an NBA comeback. The news of Hood’s retirement also comes just a couple months after another member of that 2018 Cavs team announced his retirement as well.
