Sandrine Gruda announced her retirement from basketball after winning 9 medals with the French national team and becoming the all-time leading scorer. She's in the top five in four different EuroLeague Women all-time categories.
Sandrine Gruda boasts a resume that only a few basketball players can match. She's now called it quits.
The 37-year-old big announced her retirement in an interview with FIBA.
"I feel good when I think about my career. I am proud of myself because of what I consider about where I come from – Martinique, an island in the Caribbean," Gruda said.
Gruda has won nine medals with the French national team: a EuroBasket gold in 2009, EuroBasket silvers in 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2021, EuroBasket bronzes in 2011 and 2023, Olympic silver in London in 2012, and Olympic bronze in Tokyo in 2021.
"One coach told me that in basketball, you will not remember the trophies and medals. You will remember relationships and the people you built those goals with," Gruda said. "That is exactly it."
"I remember how much time we spent working on goals and talking about it. We were building friendships, and that has been beautiful for me. Just to be able to connect with those people," she said.
Gruda has established her status as the EuroLeague Women legend. She's 2nd in all-time points, 3rd in rebounds, 4th in blocks and games played.
The French big was FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year in 2009, she's also a WNBA champion with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016. She was named to the Tokyo Olympics' All-Star Five in 2021.
Gruda is the French national team's all-time leading scorer (2878 points) in 225 games with the French jersey (8th-most).
"People always told me how focused I was compared to others. I was not there to chit-chat, I was on a mission," Gruda said.
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