Tyrell Terry Retires from NBA; Mavs 2020 Draft Pick Details Anxiety in IG Post

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Former Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies guard Tyrell Terry announced his retirement Thursday and discussed his mental health in his Instagram post.

Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News passed along the message Terry called "a very difficult one to share."

While Terry pointed out how basketball led to "lifelong friends" and included "amazing accomplishments" and "unforgettable memories," he also said he "experienced the darkest times of my life. To the point where instead of building me up, it began to destroy me. Where I began to despise and question the value of myself, much more than those surrounding me could ever see or know."

The Stanford product also offered a look at the anxiety he has experienced:

"Intrusive thoughts, waking up nauseous, and finding myself struggling to take normal breaths because of the rock that would sit on my chest that seemed to weigh more than I could carry. This is just a brief description of the anxiety this sport has caused me, 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."

Terry played collegiately at Stanford for just one season in 2019-20 and was a Pac-12 All-Freshman selection while averaging 14.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game and shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from deep.

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Dallas saw enough to select him with the 31st overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft.

However, he appeared in just 11 games as a rookie and missed time for personal reasons. He told reporters during the following media day, "I was dealing with some mental health stuff that runs in my family. I wasn't really aware it was creeping up on me; it hit me kind of serious."

The Mavericks released him ahead of the 2021-22 campaign but still thanked him and called him "family for life" in a tweet:

Terry joined the Grizzlies and appeared in two games in 2021-22.

He had not played a game this season prior to his retirement announcement.