Gustavo Ayon: “I Could Have Been In The NBA For 15 Years But…”

By Eurohoops team/ [email protected]

Gustavo Ayon, who won two championships in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with Real Madrid and played for many teams in the NBA, recently announced his retirement. Ayon made statements to the Spanish media AS.

Gustavo Ayon’s statements are as follows:
“When I first signed for the NBA, I felt a joy beyond words. You have to feel it. I said, ‘Wow, I’ve accomplished what I’ve dreamed of all my life. The NBA was great. I played for four teams in three years. But I didn’t want to switch from team to team in the NBA. Maybe you can play in one team, but you may not have a chance to play in the other team. This means uncertainty. I didn’t want this. I could have been in the NBA for 15 years, but all I wanted was to play basketball. I had to be taken off the plane once because of trades.

When I came to Real Madrid, I played at the highest level. EuroLeague is very close to the NBA. It doesn’t have the level of the NBA when it comes to marketing and entertainment, but it’s very close in terms of on-court sports. I wanted to be there, to be a part of it. I’ve been a key player in the team in all the championships I’ve won.”

Gustavo Ayon played for the New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks in the NBA between 2011 and 2014. Transferred to Real Madrid in 2014, Ayon was part of the team that won the EuroLeague championship in 2015. Afterwards, the experienced player won the EuroLeague championship with Real Madrid in 2018.

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