Taj Gibson is done playing. After 17 NBA seasons and 1,012 games, the former Chicago Bull announced his retirement Tuesday and immediately circled back to where it all started — rejoining the franchise as an assistant coach under head coach Tiago Splitter.
“Chicago is home,” Gibson said in a statement reported by ESPN. “This organization gave me everything. Being back in this role feels right.”
A career built on defense and durability
The Bulls selected Gibson 26th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft. He would go on to spend his first eight seasons in Chicago, carving out a reputation as one of the better defensive big men of his generation. His 695 career blocks as a Bull rank fifth in franchise history.
Over 17 seasons, Gibson averaged 8.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks across stints with Chicago, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma City, Washington, and Boston. His best offensive season came in 2013-14, when he averaged 13.0 points per game.
He wasn’t a star. He was something arguably harder to find: a reliable, physical, professional who understood his role and executed it every single night.
A natural transition into coaching
Gibson, 41, joins a Bulls staff that already includes Wes Unseld Jr., Blake Ahearn, Jamelle McMillan, Rex Kalamian, and Jonah Herscu. His hire was reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.
The transition makes sense. Players who spent their careers reading offenses, protecting the paint, and communicating switches tend to make sharp assistants. Gibson spent 17 years watching what works and what doesn’t from inside the action — a different kind of film study.
Chicago enters 2026-27 under a new identity. Splitter, in his second full season as head coach, is building a defensive culture. Gibson fits that blueprint precisely.
His playing days are over. His basketball life, it turns out, is not.
