A former member of the Memphis Grizzlies officially retires from the NBA after a short professional career.
On Friday, a member of the NBA brotherhood and family officially announced his retirement from professional hoops. This particular baller had last played for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2015-16 season.
If you are a Grizzlies fan, the 2015-16 team was special. Or unique, if you want to call it that. Perhaps “odd” is the best adjective. Memphis, severely bitten by the injury bug in addition to being a trade partner, hosted a total of 28 different players in this particular season. That is essentially two team’s worth of bodies in just one season. The spectacular fact is they somehow managed to squeak into the postseason in the Wild West.
One of those 28 players is University of North Carolina product P.J. Hairston. The 6’6″ swingman landed with the Memphis Grizzlies via three-way trade involving the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat. In two total NBA seasons, Hairston owns career averages of 6.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.2 blocks in 20.8 minutes per game. He holds a shooting accuracy of 34.3% overall, including 29.5% from beyond the arc. P.J. appearned in a total of 111 regular season games, 18 (nine starts) spent with the Grizzlies.
First, @Hairston_PJ https://t.co/JnB0ATsNB8
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) March 3, 2016
It is shocking to see such a young talent hang ’em up this early into his career. P.J. Hairston had erased all content from his personal Instagram account and made his official career announcement (directly below) prior to the weekend. Within the message were two images of him representing the Memphis Grizzlies. One of which where he was defending one of the greatest to ever play — Kobe Bryant.
https://instagram.com/p/BlLcJ0JBO7P/
You cannot argue with Hairston’s decision to step away from the game. He came. He saw. He accomplished his goal of playing — and starting — games in the NBA’s regular season. WIth the Memphis Grizzlies, he achieved an appearance in the NBA Playoffs. Some players never achieve that opportunity.
For some guys, the main goal is not to collect championship rings. A lot of guys are blessed by receiving the opportunity to earn lucrative paychecks to the play the game they — and millions of others — love. Very few people get to play on the biggest stage of basketball. This was P.J. Hairston’s dream and he fulfilled just that.
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Retiring from professional hoops at the young age of 25, he has plenty of years and many opportunities to focus on his next endeavor. At the very minimum, he is a prime example for other young players that want to work hard for the chance to don an NBA uniform one day. P.J. does not have to have a championship ring in order to be an inspriation to today’s youth.
If you are on Instagram, be sure to give P.J. Hairston a follow to view his next professional move.
Go Grizz!