All-time college basketball icon announces his retirement

After over a decade-and-a-half in the basketball consciousness, Jimmer Fredette has officially pulled up for his last three-pointer.

The veteran guard Fredette announced in an emotional post to Instagram on Wednesday that he is retiring from basketball. Fredette shared some of his most memorable basketball moments and reflected on his career, writing in part, “The time has come. And I’m excited for what’s next in life.”

You can see Fredette’s full post here.

Still only 36 years old, Fredette became one of the most iconic college basketball players of all-time during his four-year career at BYU from 2007-11. Known for his incredible off-the-dribble three-pointers (often shot from so far that they inspired the term “Jimmer Range”), Fredette was the National College Player of the Year as well as the NCAA scoring champion in 2011 (with 28.9 points per game). BYU won three MWC titles and earned four NCAA Tournament berths (including a Sweet Sixteen trip) during Fredette’s time there.

Fredette’s college exploits are still the stuff of legend as he became a television ratings darling, was the subject of the viral rap song “Teach Me How To Jimmer”, and even inspired his own merchandise. Eventually, Fredette would ride that wave all the way to becoming the No. 10 overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Unfortunately though, Fredette ended up as a major bust in the NBA. Despite being selected over the likes of (gulp) Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler, Fredette never averaged even eight points per game in a single season. He ended up shooting sub-41 percent from the field for his career and became known as a traffic cone on defense. The Kings gave up on Fredette by 2014, and he would later have forgettable stints with the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, and Phoenix Suns.

But Fredette managed to have a successful second act overseas, becoming a three-time All-Star and league MVP winner for the Shanghai Sharks in China and also later winning a Greek League championship with Panathinaikos in 2020. He subsequently transitioned into a standout career as a 3-on-3 player, become FIBA’s No. 1-ranked 3v3 player in the world and representing the United States at 3-on-3 men’s basketball during the 2024 Paris Olympics (though he suffered a major injury in the middle of Olympic play).

Still only about eight months removed from that injury, Fredette has now decided to hang up his sneakers for good. With over $8.5 million in NBA salary earned, millions more earned overseas, a fully-stocked trophy case (between both college and international basketball), and a reputation as one of basketball’s greatest cult heroes of the 21st century, Fredette did pretty well for himself in the end.