Former Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic shooting guard Terrence Ross found himself in a predicament after retiring from the NBA.

He needed a new activity to let his competitive energy out.

So he turned to pickleball. 

“The summer after I retired, I played pickleball on the weekends with my wife and a couple of our friends,” said Ross. “We would play right when the sun goes down during the evening and it was just perfect. And after I played it once, I was hooked.”

Ross experienced a very common phenomenon when he first hit the court. 

“Before I ever played pickleball, I thought I’d go out there and dominate. I’m competitive and athletic, so I just assumed I’d be good,” shared Ross. “But then I went out there and I had people beating me who were barely moving and scoring on me, I’m like 'Yo, this is crazy! I’m getting humbled by these older women who were barely moving and they have me running all over the court.' They knew how to spin the ball or hit it to my chest, so I was completely caught off guard.” 

That didn’t deter Ross, however. In fact, it got him even more hooked. 

“The hardest part for me was learning not to hit the ball too hard. I’d get too amped up and send the ball out of the park,” mentioned Ross. “But once I got the hang of it, pickleball became really fun. Pickleball feels like one of those games I’d played so many times in the past because it’s so similar to ping pong and tennis.”

Ross showcased his pickleball skills at MLP Orlando when he was joined by fellow Magic alums to raise money for charity with the Orlando Squeeze.

It was immediately clear that Ross had competed on the court before. 

And he has ping pong to thank for it.

“I love ping pong. I’ve been playing since I was a kid, and it’s one of my favorite games. I have a ping pong table at the house, so I play a lot. Having that ping pong background made the transition to pickleball a lot easier than I thought since they have their similarities,” said Ross. “Serving came the most naturally to me because it felt a lot like ping pong. When I started playing pickleball, I could add a lot of spin thanks to playing ping pong.”

While Ross doesn’t play as much as he did initially after hanging up his sneakers, working up a sweat at MLP Orlando reminded him about how much fun it is. 

“Pickleball’s definitely a great time, and I gotta get back out there again,” he concluded.