TOWSON, Md. – Nine years in professional basketball has taught Gary Neal there are going to be times like this as he waits for that phone call that will put him back into the game he's played since he was 6years old.
Undrafted and unsigned out of Towson University after a sterling two-year hitch with the Tigers, the former high-scoring shooting guard logged three years in Europe before spending the last six seasons in the National Basketball Association. Early last March the Washington Wizards, Neal's fifth NBA team, waived him. The Wizards had no choice. Injuries forced him to miss 23 games. Finally, in April, he underwent surgery to repair a number of hip issues, including bone spurs and deteriorating cartilage.
It's been a rough nine months.
"You can't do anything to rehab for the first three months," Neal said. "You work on all the other muscles in your legs, trying to keep everything else strong. After you get off the crutches you can start the rehabilitation process that'll get you back on the court."
Neal's doctor finally gave him his clearance letter effective the beginning of October.
"Bad timing though," Neal said. "All the NBA teams were already in training camp. It kind of put me behind the eight ball as far as joining another team."
Due to an agent change, Neal's phone can't officially start to ring until this Monday. He's hopeful and, based upon his career, he should be. He can score points.
Neal registered 1,254 points in less than two full seasons at Towson after transferring from La Salle where he netted 1,041 points that helped him earn Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors. He's one of only four players in college basketball history to score 1,000 points at two different Division I schools.
Initially ignored by the NBA, Neal brushed off the snub and played overseas in Italy, Spain and Turkey where his 23.6 average led the Turkish Basketball League. That experience made a lasting impression on him.
"You get to live in a lot of different places around the world and experience many different things," he said. "If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't change anything because your experiences make you into who you are and develop your character. You go through what you go through for a reason."
Neal parlayed his European experience onto San Antonio's 2010 Summer League team where he lit 'em up to earn a permanent spot on the Spurs' roster. In three seasons with San Antonio he played in 204 games averaging 21 minutes and 9.7 points. In his first year he made an immediate impact becoming only the second undrafted rookie in league history to be named All-Rookie First Team. He also rewrote the Spurs' rookie record for 3-point field goal percentage (.419) and threes made (129).
In 2013 Neal left the Spurs for the Milwaukee Bucks.
"Even though I loved playing for the Spurs and it's the best organization in all of professional sports, and we were one rebound away from winning the NBA championship, I just thought at my age then at 28 it was one of those situations where you couldn't leave that amount of money on the table," Neal recalled of his unrestricted free agent status and the Bucks' subsequent offer. "You never know what can happen or what injury you could have so that was the major reason for me leaving the Spurs."
After 30 games with the Bucks, Neal was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets, appearing in 65 games over two seasons before moving on to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In 2015-16 he was traded to the Wizards.
"That's life in the NBA," said Neal, who has averaged 21.4 minutes, and 9.9 points in 350 NBA games. "If you're in the league long enough, pretty much everybody with the exception of the top 15 or so guys will play on five, six, seven or even eight different teams over the course of their careers."
At 32 years old, Neal insists he still has plenty of game left in him.
"I feel that with the skill set I have as a shooter I can play another 3-4 years," he says. "You look at a guy like Mike Dunleavy (Cleveland Cavaliers) who is 36 years old and still going strong. He's known as a shooter. Guys with that skill are able to knock down a shot. As long as I can stay injury free and continue to shoot the ball at a pretty decent clip, I'll have a chance to stay around until I'm in my mid-30s, maybe longer."
Neal intends to stay in basketball after his playing days are over.
"In college my goal was to coach high school basketball and teach in the school where I was coaching because I never knew if I'd be able to play in the NBA," said Neal, who majored in history. "But having been a nine-year pro with six years in the NBA you make a lot of connections. I really want to get into coaching, whether it's at the professional level or college. Basketball is what I've been doing and training for my whole life. I have a decent amount of knowledge that I can pass down to a college kid or a younger guy in the NBA. I'd really like to stay around the game and help other people in the same ways that older people have helped me. That would be the smoothest transition for me to make into retirement from a playing career."
He just hopes decisions like that are several years or more ahead of him yet. For now he just wants back on the court.
