Taj Gibson

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Taj Gibson
Gibson during a practice at the NCAA tournament, 2009.
No. 22 – Chicago Bulls
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1985-06-24) June 24, 1985 (age 38)
Brooklyn, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolCalvary Christian
(San Fernando, California)
CollegeUSC (2006–2009)
NBA draft2009: 1st round, 26th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career2009–present
Career history
2009–presentChicago Bulls
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Taj Jami Gibson (born June 24, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Gibson played three seasons of collegiate basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected 26th overall by the Bulls in the 2009 NBA draft. The 6'9" power forward has throughout his career been a sixth man off the bench for the Bulls, backing up the likes of Pau Gasol and Carlos Boozer.

Early life

Gibson was born on June 24, 1985 in Brooklyn, New York City. Gibson began his high school career at the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology in Brooklyn, N.Y. He then attended Stoneridge Prep as a sophomore and junior in Tarzana, California. During his senior year in 2006, he attended Calvary Christian in San Fernando, California.

College career

Gibson played at the University of Southern California, where he was a member of the Phi 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 2009 All-Pac 10 Tournament Team by helping the Trojans win the Pacific-10 Tournament Championship at the Staples Center.[1]

Professional career

Chicago Bulls (2009–present)

Gibson declared for the 2009 NBA draft,[2] and was selected 26th overall by the Chicago Bulls. He, along with fellow draft pick James Johnson, signed with the Bulls in July, 2009.[3] 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. During the All-Star Weekend, Gibson played in the Rookie Challenge, where the Rookie team won for the first time since 2002. The Bulls made the playoffs securing the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Taj 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, Taj was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.[4]

During the 2010 off-season, the Bulls signed power forward Carlos Boozer, who was expected to start at the beginning of the season rather than Gibson. Prior to the pre-season though, Boozer broke his hand, so Gibson started the first 15 games of the season. After Boozer's return, Gibson moved into a bench role for most of the season. Gibson 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.[5] 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.[6]

In May 2012, Gibson was named to the US Select Team, joining the likes of Jeremy Lin, DeMarcus Cousins, and Kyrie Irving in practicing with the US Olympic Team in preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[7] On October 31, 2012, Gibson signed a multi-year rookie scale contract extension with the Bulls.[8] 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. Gibson subsequently finished second in the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, losing out to Jamal Crawford.[9] On June 16, 2015, Gibson underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle and was ruled out for four months.[10]

Career statistics

Legend
  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

College

College Year GP MPG SPG BPG RPG APG PPG FG% FT% 3P%
USC 2006–07 37 32.4 .5 1.9 8.7 1.5 12.2 .558 .623 .000
USC 2007–08 33 32.1 .7 2.5 7.8 1.3 10.8 .580 .594 .000
USC 2008–09 35 33.7 1.0 2.9 9.0 1.3 14.3 .601 .659 .000

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Chicago 82 70 26.9 .494 .000 .646 7.5 .9 .6 1.3 9.0
2010–11 Chicago 80 19 21.8 .466 .125 .676 5.7 .7 .5 1.3 7.1
2011–12 Chicago 63 0 20.4 .495 .000 .622 5.3 .7 .4 1.3 7.7
2012–13 Chicago 65 5 22.4 .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 .000 .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
Career 507 174 25.0 .491 .045 .692 6.3 1.0 .5 1.3 9.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010 Chicago 5 5 29.0 .421 .000 .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 .000 .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 .000 .750 6.2 .4 .4 2.4 18.2
2015 Chicago 12 2 23.0 .472 .000 .700 5.5 1.0 .3 1.0 7.4
Career 56 7 21.5 .499 .000 .691 4.9 .6 .4 1.2 8.0

See also

References

  1. ^ Pac-10 All-Tournament Team
  2. ^ Sidney to Mississippi State?
  3. ^ Bulls sign rookies Johnson, Gibson
  4. ^ Evans, Jennings, Curry unanimous All-Rookie team picks
  5. ^ 2011 NBA Rising Stars
  6. ^ Derrick Rose, Bulls put Hawks on brink with dominant fourth
  7. ^ BULLS' GIBSON NAMED TO USA MEN'S SELECT TEAM
  8. ^ BULLS SIGN TAJ GIBSON TO MULTI-YEAR EXTENSION
  9. ^ Jamal Crawford wins 2014 NBA Sixth Man of the Year
  10. ^ TAJ GIBSON INJURY UPDATE

External links

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