LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 13: Taj Gibson hugs Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks after the game against the Orlando Magic during the 2025-26 NBA Emirates Cup Semifinals on December 13, 2025 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 13: Taj Gibson hugs Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks after the game against the Orlando Magic during the 2025-26 NBA Emirates Cup Semifinals on December 13, 2025 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Karl-Anthony Towns, the NBA champion with the New York Knicks, took to social media after he saw that his former teammate, Taj Gibson, had announced his retirement from the NBA after 17 seasons in the league with eight different teams.
“Congrats to my brother Taj Gibson on an incredible career. Real one. True vet. Taught me so much! Now watch him cook as a coach in Chicago . The city’s lucky to have you, big fella!” wrote Towns on X.
Gibson is expected to join Tiago Splitter’s staff as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. Towns was teammates with Taj Gibson on the Minnesota Timberwolves for two seasons (2017-18 and 2018-19).
Gibson was already an eight-year veteran in the league when he joined forces with his former coach, Tom Thibodeau, and a young Towns in Minnesota.
Together, they started all 82 games in the 2017-18 season, ending the franchise’s 13-year playoff drought. Since Gibson was the veteran voice in Towns’ ear in his first-ever playoff experience, the NBA champion has a special place for him in his heart.
During their two-year stint with the Timberwolves, Gibson averaged 11.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 57.2% from the field in 149 games played.
Meanwhile, Towns averaged 22.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 53.6% from the field and 41.8% from the three-point line during this time. The NBA champion believes Taj Gibson has a lot to teach the next generation of young players, just as he did during their time together.
Taj Gibson Receives $149K Before Retirement Despite Non-Guaranteed Contract.
Earlier in February 2026, the Grizzlies announced that they had signed Taj Gibson on a two-year, $4.8 million deal. But the Grizzlies seemingly gave him a two-year non-guaranteed deal that would have been guaranteed only if he met internal goals set by the franchise.
According to Yossi Gozlan of the Third Apron, Gibson’s contract has become a leading example of the NBA’s growing trend of offering team-option-based contracts for the final roster spots to retain trade flexibility.
“Last week, the Grizzlies made a trade with the Pelicans in which they effectively swapped AJ Johnson ($3.2 million) for Jordan Hawkins ($7 million) and second-round draft equity. Johnson’s salary isn’t big enough to match straight up for Hawkins with the 200 percent expanded trade exception,” Gozlan explained in his latest report.
($7,021,895 – $250,000) / 2 = $3,385,947
$3,385,947 – $3,237,120 (Johnson) = $148,828
“That isn’t a problem for the Grizzlies since they had a trade exception big enough to absorb Hawkins. Unfortunately, that exception is the $28.9 million trade exception they generated in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade.
“Acquiring minor draft equity seems like an inefficient use of 25 percent of the second-biggest trade exception in NBA history. So they attached Taj Gibson and increased his guaranteed salary from $0 to $148,828, the outgoing amount required along with Johnson to match for Hawkins. This let them save the Jackson Jr. exception for later,” Gozlan further explained.
As a result, the Grizzlies avoided using a valuable asset like the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade exception ($28.9 million) while bringing in Johnson. And Gibson received a nice little payday upon retirement.
Taj Gibson’s remarkable 17-year NBA career ends with his retirement, but his influence goes beyond his stats. His veteran presence helped shape players like Karl-Anthony Towns.
And his transition to coaching could let him keep influencing the next generation while starting an exciting new chapter in Chicago. It will be very interesting to see how Gibson inspires the next generation as an assistant coach for the Bulls.