_(cropped2).jpg) Gibson with theWashington Wizards in 2022 | |
| No. 67 – Charlotte Hornets | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center /power forward |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1985-06-24)June 24, 1985 (age 39) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 232 lb (105 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College | USC (2006–2009) |
| NBA draft | 2009: 1st round, 26th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Chicago Bulls |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
| Career history | |
| 2009–2017 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2017 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2017–2019 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2019–2022 | New York Knicks |
| 2022–2023 | Washington Wizards |
| 2023–2024 | New York Knicks |
| 2024 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2024–present | Charlotte Hornets |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Taj Jami Gibson (born June 24, 1985) is an American professionalbasketball player for theCharlotte Hornets of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He playedcollege basketball for theUSC Trojans and was selected 26th overall by theChicago Bulls in the2009 NBA draft. Apower forward/center, Gibson previously played for the Bulls,Oklahoma City Thunder,Minnesota Timberwolves,New York Knicks,Washington Wizards, andDetroit Pistons.
Gibson was born on June 24, 1985, inBrooklyn, New York. He attended P.S. 67 Charles A. Dorsey School in Brooklyn'sFort Greene neighborhood.[1] Gibson began his high school career at Brooklyn'sHigh School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology. He then attended Stoneridge Prep as a sophomore and junior inTarzana, California. During his senior year in 2006, he attended Calvary Christian inSan Fernando, California.
Gibson played at theUniversity of Southern California, where he was a member of thePhi Kappa Psi fraternity. As one of the oldest freshmen in the country at age 21 in 2007 he was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team. He helped beat rival UCLA in 2008. Gibson was named to the 2009All-Pac 10 Tournament Team by helping theTrojans win thePacific-10 tournament championship at theStaples Center.[2]
Gibson declared for the2009 NBA draft,[3] and was selected 26th overall by theChicago Bulls. Along with fellow draft pickJames Johnson, he signed with the Bulls in July 2009.[4] Gibson was the starting power forward for most of his rookie season with the Bulls and impressed many people with his high energy and good defense. Duringthe All-Star Weekend, Gibson played in theRookie Challenge, where the Rookie team won for the first time since2002. The Bulls made the playoffs, securing the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Gibson averaged 7.6 points per game and 7.0 rebounds while the Bulls lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. At the end of his first season, he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.[5]
During the 2010 off-season, the Bulls signed power forwardCarlos Boozer, who was expected to start at the beginning of the season rather than Gibson. But Boozer broke his hand before the pre-season, and Gibson started the first 15 games of the season. After Boozer's return, Gibson moved into a bench role for most of the season. He was selected as a starter for the Sophomore squad in the 2011 NBA Rising Stars challenge at the All-Star weekend, which the Rookie team won 148–140. Gibson played 18 minutes and recorded 8 points.[6] At the end of the season, the Bulls made the playoffs as the first seed in the Eastern Conference. On May 10, 2011, Gibson helped his team take a 3–2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta, making all of his 11 points in the fourth quarter.[7]
In May 2012, Gibson was named to the US Select Team, joiningJeremy Lin,DeMarcus Cousins, andKyrie Irving in practicing with the US Olympic Team in preparation for the2012 Summer Olympics in London.[8] On October 31, 2012, Gibson signed a multi-year rookie scale contract extension with the Bulls.[9] Playing mostly a bench role in 2013–14, Gibson averaged 13 points and 6.8 rebounds on the season and was among the league leaders in blocked shots per game. He finished second in the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, losing toJamal Crawford.[10] On June 16, 2015, Gibson underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle and was ruled out for four months.[11] During the2015–16 season, he appeared in 73 games and averaged 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds.[12]
On February 23, 2017, Gibson was traded, along withDoug McDermott and an unprotected 2018 second-round draft pick, to theOklahoma City Thunder in exchange forJoffrey Lauvergne,Anthony Morrow, andCameron Payne.[13]
On July 10, 2017, Gibson signed with theMinnesota Timberwolves, reuniting himself with coachTom Thibodeau.[14] He became the second NBA player ever to wear No. 67,[15] in honor of his Brooklyn elementary school, P.S. 67.[16] On November 22, 2017, he scored a season-high 24 points in a 124–118 win over theOrlando Magic.[17] On February 15, 2018, Gibson scored a season-high 28 points against theLos Angeles Lakers.[18]
On July 9, 2019, Gibson signed with his hometown team theNew York Knicks.[19] On November 19, 2020, the Knicks waived Gibson.[20] On January 7, 2021, Gibson re-signed with the Knicks.[21][22]He was waived again on July 8, 2022.[23]
On July 19, 2022, Gibson signed with theWashington Wizards.[24]
On September 15, 2023, Gibson re-signed with the Wizards,[25] but was waived on October 23.[26]
On December 15, 2023, Gibson signed a one-year deal with theNew York Knicks, returning for a second stint with the franchise.[27][28][29] However, he was waived on January 7, 2024.[30] After two weeks, Gibson signed consecutive 10-day contracts on January 30 and February 10 respectively.[31][32]
On March 6, 2024, Gibson signed a 10-day contract with theDetroit Pistons[33] followed by a rest-of-season contract on March 16.[34]
On July 13, 2024, Gibson signed a 1-year, $3.3M contract with theCharlotte Hornets.[35]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Chicago | 82* | 70 | 26.9 | .494 | — | .646 | 7.5 | .9 | .6 | 1.3 | 9.0 |
| 2010–11 | Chicago | 80 | 19 | 21.8 | .466 | .125 | .676 | 5.7 | .7 | .7 | 1.3 | 7.1 |
| 2011–12 | Chicago | 63 | 0 | 20.4 | .495 | — | .622 | 5.3 | .7 | .4 | 1.3 | 7.7 |
| 2012–13 | Chicago | 65 | 5 | 22.5 | .485 | .000 | .679 | 5.3 | .9 | .4 | 1.4 | 8.0 |
| 2013–14 | Chicago | 82 | 8 | 28.7 | .479 | .000 | .751 | 6.8 | 1.1 | .5 | 1.4 | 13.0 |
| 2014–15 | Chicago | 62 | 17 | 27.3 | .502 | — | .717 | 6.4 | 1.1 | .6 | 1.2 | 10.3 |
| 2015–16 | Chicago | 73 | 55 | 26.5 | .526 | .000 | .692 | 6.9 | 1.5 | .6 | 1.1 | 8.6 |
| 2016–17 | Chicago | 55 | 55 | 27.3 | .521 | .167 | .714 | 6.9 | 1.1 | .5 | .9 | 11.6 |
| Oklahoma City | 23 | 16 | 21.2 | .497 | 1.000 | .718 | 4.5 | .6 | .6 | .7 | 9.0 | |
| 2017–18 | Minnesota | 82* | 82* | 33.2 | .577 | .200 | .768 | 7.1 | 1.2 | .8 | .7 | 12.2 |
| 2018–19 | Minnesota | 70 | 57 | 24.1 | .566 | .324 | .757 | 6.5 | 1.2 | .8 | .6 | 10.8 |
| 2019–20 | New York | 62 | 56 | 16.5 | .584 | .286 | .732 | 4.3 | .8 | .4 | .5 | 6.1 |
| 2020–21 | New York | 45 | 3 | 20.8 | .627 | .200 | .727 | 5.6 | .8 | .7 | 1.1 | 5.4 |
| 2021–22 | New York | 52 | 4 | 18.2 | .518 | .395 | .808 | 4.4 | .6 | .4 | .8 | 4.4 |
| 2022–23 | Washington | 49 | 2 | 9.8 | .520 | .333 | .714 | 1.9 | .7 | .3 | .2 | 3.4 |
| 2023–24 | New York | 16 | 1 | 10.3 | .304 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.8 | .6 | .1 | .4 | 1.0 |
| Detroit | 4 | 0 | 9.8 | .571 | .500 | — | 2.3 | .5 | .3 | .3 | 4.5 | |
| Career | 965 | 450 | 23.5 | .517 | .263 | .713 | 5.8 | 1.0 | .5 | 1.0 | 8.6 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Chicago | 5 | 5 | 29.0 | .421 | — | .545 | 7.0 | .6 | .2 | .6 | 7.6 |
| 2011 | Chicago | 16 | 0 | 17.8 | .566 | .000 | .600 | 4.1 | .6 | .3 | 1.4 | 5.9 |
| 2012 | Chicago | 6 | 0 | 22.8 | .457 | — | .682 | 6.5 | .7 | .7 | 1.7 | 9.5 |
| 2013 | Chicago | 12 | 0 | 17.2 | .470 | .000 | .727 | 3.0 | .3 | .3 | .5 | 6.5 |
| 2014 | Chicago | 5 | 0 | 30.8 | .561 | — | .750 | 6.2 | .4 | .4 | 2.4 | 18.2 |
| 2015 | Chicago | 12 | 2 | 23.0 | .472 | — | .700 | 5.5 | 1.0 | .3 | 1.0 | 7.4 |
| 2017 | Oklahoma City | 5 | 5 | 23.6 | .600 | — | .875 | 3.6 | .6 | .2 | .0 | 9.8 |
| 2018 | Minnesota | 5 | 5 | 24.6 | .636 | — | 1.000 | 4.0 | .4 | .2 | .4 | 6.2 |
| 2021 | New York | 5 | 3 | 27.6 | .600 | — | 1.000 | 7.0 | .8 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 5.0 |
| Career | 71 | 20 | 22.3 | .519 | .000 | .709 | 4.9 | .6 | .4 | 1.0 | 7.8 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | USC | 37 | 37 | 32.4 | .558 | — | .623 | 8.7 | 1.5 | .5 | 1.9 | 12.2 |
| 2007–08 | USC | 33 | 32 | 32.1 | .580 | — | .594 | 7.8 | 1.3 | .7 | 2.5 | 10.8 |
| 2008–09 | USC | 35 | 35 | 33.7 | .601 | — | .659 | 9.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 14.3 |
| Career | 105 | 104 | 32.7 | .580 | — | .629 | 8.5 | 1.4 | .7 | 2.4 | 12.4 | |
