Only, five minutes into his Boston tenure, Hayward fractured his left tibia and dislocated his ankle. Seven years later, as his former team prepares to raise its championship banner, he has retired after 14 seasons, and it is impossible to process his NBA career without reflecting on how that gruesome injury shaped it.

Things rarely went as planned in Gordon Hayward’s career. When he signed with the Boston Celtics entering his prime, he was an emerging All-Star joining a team built to win for the foreseeable future. Then a few minutes into that chapter of his career, he suffered a gruesome ankle injury and things were never quite the same.

At the time, Hayward was one of the most important free agent signings in the history of the Hornets franchise. He was a former All-Star in his prime that was brought to the Queen

Star, recently announced his retirement at 34, ending a career marked by his stints with the Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics, and most recently, the Oklahoma City Thunder. While his journey as a professional athlete has come to a close,