For the past five seasons, Taj Gibson has found himself becoming a journeyman in the league, but also a reliable veteran who can help teams on and off the court. It looks like Gibson is ready to hang up the jersey, and he's heading back to where it all started for him, but in a coaching capacity, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

“After 17 NBA seasons, Taj Gibson is retiring and returning to the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach under Tiago Splitter to begin his coaching career,” Charania wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Gibson shared an emotional message on social media following the announcement.

“But this isn’t goodbye to Basketball. It’s the beginning of a new chapter. After 31 years of basketball, I can walk away with no regrets, knowing I left everything on the floor. God has truly blessed me. Thank you Basketball,” Gibson wrote on X.

Today is a very emotional day for me.

After 17 seasons in the NBA, I can honestly say I gave this game everything I had.

Basketball gave me the opportunity to live a dream. As a kid from Brooklyn, NY, I was lucky to get a chance to display my talent on the biggest stage. From… pic.twitter.com/tQAgHoUYl6

— Taj Gibson (@TajGibson) September 14, 2026

Gibson was drafted in 2009 by the Bulls, and now he gets to coach on the sidelines for the team. This is a good move for Gibson, especially with a young team like the Bulls, who are going to need some veteran leadership from someone who played in the league.

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Splitter has also played in the league before and could be someone that the players lean on during hard times. Though Splitter took over the head coach duties for the Portland Trail Blazers last season after Chauncey Billups was arrested for sports betting charges, this will be his first time as an official head coach for a franchise.

During his introductory press conference, he shared what he expects from his team every single night as they plan to grow for the future.

“I can guarantee you one thing: we are going to compete every night, and we are going to have high standards with everything we do,” Splitter said.

The Bulls won't have many expectations to start, but they do have some exciting players on the team, one which includes their first-round draft pick, Caleb Wilson.