Ex-NBA draft pick Tyrell Terry retires at 22: 'It began to destroy me'

NBA free-agent guard Tyrell Terry announced his retirement from basketball at the age of 22 in an Instagram post on Thursday.

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Terry, who was a second-round pick of the Dallas Mavericks in 2020, cited the anxiety that basketball caused him while explaining his decision to step away from the game he's "fallen out of love with."

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“This message is a very difficult one to share and an emotional one to write. 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,” Terry wrote.

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[{"selector":"#anim-8cd75f56-0c2d-4415-a6bd-aa389c572eca","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] “And while I’m grateful for every door it has opened for me, I can’t continue this fight any longer for something I have fallen out of love with.”

[{"selector":"#anim-eb9686c2-2f26-48fb-9e52-1441eeece4df","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] "To most, I will forever be known as a bust, a failure, or a waste of talent. While those may be true when it comes to basketball, it is the biggest failures in life that lead to the greatest success," Terry wrote.

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[{"selector":"#anim-82024000-c877-4401-8ab8-98425deadcd4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] "I am eternally grateful to those who have believed in me and apologize to those that I have let down. But I'm headed down a different path now, one that will hopefully lead to happiness and being able to love myself again."