In Taj Gibson, the Chicago Bulls had a reliable player who made his 110% energy available on the pitch whenever he was needed. A native of Brooklyn, New York, who has played as a sixth man for most of his career and was once runner-up in the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year competition, he played college basketball for the USC Trojans in California before making it to the big leagues.
Taj Gibson Bio, Age
Gibson was born as Taj Jami Gibson by Sharon and Wilbert Gibson on June 24, 1985, in Brooklyn, New York. His family was not very wealthy, so Gibson was at a very young age and had to help both in the household and in his father’s work as a foreman for carpentry and moving company. This instilled in him the spirit of hard work and also motivated him to pursue his dream of playing basketball.
ALSO READ: Naoya Inoue Biography, Height, Weight, Body Stats, Family, Other Facts
Taj Gibson attended first the Charles A. Dorsey School (P.S. 67) and then the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology in Brooklyn. However, after his first year of study, his father sent him to California to continue his education at Stoneridge Preparatory School in Simi Valley to avoid being drawn into the drug and gang lifestyle that was taking hold in their neighborhood. There, Gibson managed to balance good grades with his basketball schedule while taking a job to put some extra money in his pockets. In his senior year, Gibson moved to Calvary Christian in San Fernando, California, where he eventually graduated, although he was much older than his classmates at the time.
His talent earned him a scholarship to the University of Southern California where, as a 21-year-old freshman, he averaged 12.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game to earn the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team Honors. In his second year, Gibson was in the third team of the All-Pac-10 selection, where he averaged 10.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. In his junior year, he averaged 14.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game to help his team win the Pacific 10 Tournament Championship. His efforts earned him the “Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year” award and the second selection of All-Pac-10 teams, prompting him to sign up for the 2009 NBA Draft.
Taj Gibson was voted 26th overall by the Chicago Bulls and was quickly accepted into the starting team, where he impressed the coaches with his high energy and good defense. He achieved an average of 7.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, earning him the honor of the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Gibson’s stay with the Bulls lasted until February 2017 when he transferred to Oklahoma City Thunder. He played with the team that year before signing a two-year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves in July 2017.
What’s His Salary And Net Worth?
In 2017, Taj Gibson put a two-year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves worth $28 million on paper. This means that he has an average annual salary of $14 million and is the fifth highest-paid player on the team’s roster. Gibson has come a long way from his rookie days with the Bulls when he took home an average salary of just over $1 million. In 2012, he signed a four-year $33 million contract with the team that paid him just over $8 million a year.
With all his income in mind, Taj Gibson’s net worth was estimated at around $25 million.
ALSO READ: Is Jason Nash Married, Who Is His Wife? Kids, Divorce, Family, Girlfriend, Bio
Does Taj Gibson Have A Wife Or Girlfriend?
Taj Gibson is currently neither married nor in a relationship, as he is reportedly very much single. However, he has been involved with a number of women in the past, and one of them has a daughter for him, while another is somehow familiar to him.
Gibson has a daughter from his relationship with Tenille Melissa. Not much is known about her, unlike the next person Gibson was associated with, former Destiny Child singer Michelle Williams. The couple was reported to have been a couple after Gibson and Williams sat on the sidelines with his daughter watching a WNBA game of a team where Williams is a minority owner. It is not clear how long this relationship lasted before both parties moved on to other people.
Height and Weight
Taj Gibson’s height is indicated as 2.06 m or 6 feet 7 inches, while his weight is 235 pounds or 107 kg.
