Longtime NBA veteran Taj Gibson, who ended last season as the league’s second-oldest player, has called it a career. After 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association, Gibson, who turned 41 in June, announced his retirement on Monday.
The announcement came one week after Gibson was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the New Orleans Pelicans, with the Pelicans promptly waiving him, and thus, making him a free agent.
The Grizzlies were the eighth and final team that Gibson suited up for, though he is best known for his eight years with the Chicago Bulls, where he began his career. In Gibson’s retirement letter posted on social media, the Bulls were the only team he explicitly mentioned, but he thanked all of the organizations that employed him.
“Basketball gave me the opportunity to live a dream,” Gibson stated. “As a kid from Brooklyn, NY, I was lucky to get a chance to display my talent on the biggest stage. From Fort Greene Projects to USC, to the Chicago Bulls, and every team and city that came after, I’m grateful for every moment, every teammate, every coach, and every person who believed in me.”
While Gibson is done as a basketball player, he’s clearly not leaving the game of basketball behind him, and he is in fact restarting his relationship with the Bulls. Upon his retirement, Chicago announced that Gibson would join the team’s coaching staff under Tiago Splitter, the former Portland Trail Blazers interim head coach who was hired by the Bulls in June.
Gibson was never a star, and for most of his career he wasn’t even a starter. But he was a key role player and one of the glue guys that every winning organization wants in their locker room. That’s a big reason he was able to last 17 years.
Related Stories
Only LeBron James, who is six months older, and Chris Paul, who is one month older, were older than Gibson in the 2025–2026 NBA season, among the 582 players who suited up for a game. After Paul retired midseason, Gibson was the second-oldest player in the league.
“I wanted to be the guy my teammates could count on someone who brought toughness, energy, leadership, and heart every time I stepped on the court,” Gibson stated in his retirement letter. “To my family, my friends, my teammates, my coaches, my agent, the NBA, NBPA and the fans, thank you. You were all a part of this journey.”
“But this isn’t goodbye to Basketball. It’s the beginning of a new chapter. After 31 years of basketball, I can walk away with no regrets, knowing I left everything on the floor. God has truly blessed me.
“Thank you Basketball.”
Over his 17 seasons, Gibson played in 1,012 games, starting 462 of them. He averaged 8.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks, converting 51.7 percent of his shots from the field. His most notable award recognitions came when he made the NBA All-Rookie Team in 2009–2010 and finished as runner-up in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2013–2014.
But his impact goes beyond that, as he was a lynchpin on some of the league’s best defensive teams, particularly under head coach Tom Thibodeau. Gibson played for five different teams that finished among the top three in scoring defense, and Thibodeau wanted him on wherever he coached. After playing for Thibodeau in Chicago, the coach then brought him in as a free agent when he coached the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the two then also spent time with the New York Knicks together.
Gibson was the No. 26 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft out of USC. Just four players from that draft class remain active players, and they all have Hall of Fame credentials, which is a testament to Gibson’s ability to stay in the league this long. The other four are Steph Curry, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, and Jrue Holiday.
Gibson is the latest in a line of notable NBA retirements over recent months. Including the aforementioned Paul, who retired in February, fellow point guards Russell Westbrook and Kyle Lowry also hung up their sneakers after the 2025–2026 season. All of these moves mean that there will be just two players aged 40 or older next season. James, who turns 42 in December, is the league’s oldest player, and Al Horford, who reached four decades in June, is the only other 40-year-old.
As an assistant coach, Gibson will get his first taste of action when the Bulls begin training camp on Sept. 29. The team holds its first preseason contest on Oct. 7, before Chicago’s regular season tips off at the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 21.
