As a professional basketballer, Gordon Hayward currently plays for the Boston Celtics. Prior to joining the NBA team, this small forward spent seven seasons with the Utah Jazz. Find out more about him here including his wife, salary, career stats, body measurements, etc.
Gordon Hayward was born on the 23rd of March 1990 in Indiana and comes from a family of four consisting of his dad, Gordon Scott Hayward, his mom Jody Hayward and his twin sister, Heather. Hayward grew up in Brownsburg, a small town near Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana. He dreamt of playing in the NBA as early as the age of five and that dream was nurtured and encouraged by his parents.
However, Hayward faced a major challenge to his dream of playing in the NBA and that was his height. Both his parents were of average height, 5 feet 10 inches and doctors predicted that the highest he could aspire to was 6 feet 2 inches. As a result, his father/coach focused on training him on skills that will enable him to be a successful guard such as ball handling and passing skills. However, in his senior year, Hayward experienced a surprising growth spurt which saw him shoot up to 6 feet 8 inches and as such, he was able to play as a forward rather than as a guard.
Gordon Hayward had an impressive career in high school, leading his team to the 4A state championship title in dramatic fashion. With less than 3 seconds remaining on the clock and his team trailing by one point, he hoisted up the game-winning layup just as the buzzer went off giving his team a 51-49 victory. Unsurprisingly, he received offers of athletic scholarships from several universities but choose Butler University, a private university located in Indianapolis. He spent two impressive years at the college. In his first season, he averaged 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game and was named the newcomer of the year. He equally had a stellar second season, averaging 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. This time, he was named the league player of the year.
Hayward’s outstanding performances earned him a call-up to the USA national team for the FIBA Under-19 championship in 2009. The team won the gold medal and Hayward was named as one of the best five players of the tournament. Due to his outstanding achievements, He received calls from different agents and scouts in the NBA and decided with his parents to cut his college career short and go professional. He submitted his name for the 2010 NBA draft and was picked in the first round by the Utah Jazz.
Gordon Hayward spent seven years (2010-2017) with the Utah Jazz, playing a total of 516 games for them and averaging 15.7 points, 3.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. He had two particularly standout seasons with the Utah Jazz which was the 2014/2015 season and the 2016/2017 season.
In the 2014/2015 season, he averaged a career-high 19.3 points per game, adding 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists to that scoring tally. He also gave a monster performance while going head-to-head with LeBron James. Gordon got the best of James several times throughout the night, tallying 21 points and seven assists and he splashed home the deciding bucket at the buzzer for a 100-102 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the 2016/2017 season, he went on to average an impressive 21.9 points, 3.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game and earned his first invitation to the 2017 NBA All-Star game. After seven eventful years, Hayward parted ways with the Utah Jazz, joining the Boston Celtics in July 2017 on a four-year contract worth about $128,000,000.
Hayward, unfortunately, suffered a freak injury in his first game for the Celtics which was also the very first game of the 2017/2018 season. He collided with LeBron James while attempting an alley-oop pass and landed awkwardly on his left leg, shattering his ankle and injuring his tibia in the process. The injury forced him to miss the entire 2017/2018 season and he had to undergo surgery as well as months of difficult rehabilitation.
Hayward suffered another setback in May 2018 as the doctors informed him that he had to undergo a second surgery to remove the plate and screws around his left ankle after he complained of pains. This completely threw his rehabilitation timetable off course as well as his plan for a return to competitive play. At present, Hayward is back to training. It might take some time for him to get back into the groove of things but there are already indications that he will return to being the all-star player he once was.
Hayward has recorded a total of $87,007,793 in his salary earnings till date. In the 2017/2018 season alone, he was reportedly paid $29,727,900, making him the fourth highest paid player in the league. Additionally, he has also earned at least a million dollars in endorsement deals with various brands such as Nike, Unilever and eSport brand, HyperX.
Gordon Hayward is married to Indiana native, Robyn Hayward nee Van Vliet. The two reportedly started dating around July 2013 and got engaged five months later on the 24th of December 2013. They tied the knot on the 24th of May 2014 in a ceremony at St Simon the Apostle Catholic Church in Indianapolis.
The couple is blessed with two children Bernadette Marie, who was born on the 6th of June 2015, and Charlotte Margaret born on the 11th of July 2016. In July 2018, Robyn and Gordon announced that they are expecting a third child.
Gordon Hayward is 6 feet 8 inches tall, which is an astonishing 203 cm. He weighs 226 lb (102 kg). As a high school freshman, he was just a mere 5 feet 11 inches tall and as such, was in danger of not realizing his NBA dream.
But then, he experienced a growth spurt later, eventually topping 6 feet 8 inches in his senior year. His dad attributed this to divine intervention.