Sacramento Kings’ Rudy Gay sells Memphis home to basketball coach Tubby Smith
Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay has passed his old home court in Memphis, Tenn., to new Memphis Tigers men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith for $1.48 million.
The two-story house returned to market in mid-April and closed sale in less than two months, according to property records. Gay, who began his career with the Memphis Grizzlies, bought the house six years ago for a shade more than $1.176 million.
Extensively updated during the basketball player’s ownership, the home features a two-story living room, a chef’s kitchen and a media room with a wet bar. The master suite has a custom closet and a spa-like bathroom for a total of four bedrooms and five bathrooms in 8,400 square feet of space.
Outdoors, there’s a tiered deck. Mature trees, lawns and a three-car garage fill out the 1.6-acre grounds.
Credit Realty One Group 1st National agent Ashley Pickens, in collaboration with Ikem Chukumerije of Athlete Concierge Group, was the listing agent. Joel Hobson of Hobson Realtors represented Smith in the sale.
Gay, 29, appeared in 70 games for Sacramento last year, his third with the team. The Connecticut Huskies alum came over to the Kings in a 2013 trade with the Toronto Raptors and has averaged 18.4 points per game across 10 NBA seasons.
Smith previously led the Kentucky Wildcats to five SEC championships and a national championship (1998). He accepted the head coaching position at Memphis after three seasons at Texas Tech.
He was the AP College Coach of the Year in 1998.
The player and coach have some history, having met in 2006 during the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Gay made two free throws late in the game to help No.1 seed Connecticut seal an 87-83 win over No.8 seed Kentucky.
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