Jimmer Fredette, a college basketball star at BYU who went on to become an NBA lottery pick and then played for the U.S. in 3×3 basketball at last year’s Paris Olympics, announced his retirement Wednesday.
“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!” Fredette wrote in a social media post. “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.”
At BYU, Fredette led the country with 28.9 points per game in 2010-11 and won consensus national player of the year honors while leading the Cougars to their first Sweet 16 appearance in 30 years.
Fredette, 36, was the No. 10 pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2011 draft before being traded to the Sacramento Kings. He spent parts of six seasons in the NBA with Sacramento, Chicago, New Orleans, New York and Phoenix.
He also played professionally in China and Greece, winning the MVP award in the Chinese Basketball Association in 2017. Fredette had games of 70 and 75 points in China, including one where he scored 60 points after halftime.
The best years of his playing career may have been his final ones, when he turned his attention to 3×3. Fredette was a star in that fast-paced, half-court game for the U.S., helping the Americans win gold medals at the 2022 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup and 2023 Pan American Games along with a silver at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He was USA Basketball’s 3×3 male athlete of the year in 2023.
He entered the Paris Olympics as the top-ranked 3×3 men’s player in the world, with the Americans ranked No. 2 worldwide. But Fredette suffered an adductor muscle injury early in the tournament, and the U.S. by rule could not replace him on its four-man roster for the Paris Games, so the Americans had to play the rest of the Olympics with three players and no substitutes.
“I owe a lot of who I am today to this game and it’s not easy to say goodbye as a player,” Fredette wrote. “But the time has come.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
