Taj Gibson. Image via: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images
Taj Gibson Retires from NBA, Joins Coaching Staff in Chicago
Taj Gibson has officially announced his retirement from the NBA after a 17-year career. The 41-year-old forward made the announcement on Monday. Immediately following his retirement, Gibson has taken a position on Tiago Splitter’s coaching staff in Chicago, marking his return to the city where he began his professional journey in 2009.
“After 31 years of basketball, I can walk away with no regrets, knowing I left everything on the floor. Across 1,012 career games, Gibson averaged 8.3 points and 5.7 rebounds, suiting up for eight franchises total: the Bulls, Oklahoma City, Minnesota, New York, Detroit, Charlotte, Memphis and briefly New Orleans on paper. He was a 6-foot-9 forward taken in the first round of the 2009 draft, and he spent his first seven-plus seasons defending for Tom Thibodeau’s Chicago teams. Memphis signed him in February, played him in just 10 games, and got 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds a night out of him. Over 17 seasons, Gibson earned roughly $92.3 million in salary, according to Hoopshype.
“It’s the beginning of a new chapter,” he wrote. His final months as a player were a series of jerseys. Memphis traded him to New Orleans last week, and the Pelicans waived him almost immediately. Instead of chasing a 15th roster spot somewhere else, Gibson picked the bench in a different sense, choosing to return to the franchise that drafted him. Taj Gibson made the call himself; he posted the news on social media rather than waiting for a team release. He described walking away with no regrets. God has truly blessed me. Word of the move spread fast around the league. Former teammates and organizations from Minnesota and New York, two stops where Gibson left a mark, praised both his staying power and his shift into coaching. That kind of respect travels, and it should help him now that his job is about accountability instead of minutes. His last stretch on the court was modest by design. It wasn’t about production at that point. He was the second-oldest active player in the league behind LeBron James, and teams wanted him around for what he brought off the stat sheet.