Nearly a decade ago, Taj Gibson and Tom Thibodeau sat down after Bulls team practices and talked about one day working together in Madison Square Garden.
Gibson, a Brooklyn native, and Thibodeau, a Connecticut native and former Knicks assistant coach, dreamed of restoring their hometown team to glory. Gibson was just 24 years old at the time, while teammate Derrick Rose was 21. Now, 10 years later, all three stood on the Garden floor as the building vibrated in celebration of the franchise’s first playoff win in eight years, a win that had Rose, Gibson and Thibodeau’s fingerprints all over it.
“It’s so surreal,” Gibson said after New York’s game two victory on Wednesday night. “When I talk to the young guys who wake up and may not know where their path is going to lead them or where the game might take them, just don’t worry about what anybody is going to say. Because I sat down years ago, as a rookie, maybe my second year, I sat every day with Thibs and we talked about the Knicks, about the battles and how great it would be to play there one day.”
It was a unique road for all three to wind up in New York. The trio was part of an underwhelming stint in Minnesota with the Timberwolves before all going their separate ways after Thibodeau was fired in January of 2019. But just over two years later, the gang is back together, collectively turning back the clock to breathe new life into a Knicks franchise that had been gasping for air for the past eight years.
“The course is always going to be rocky,” Gibson said. “But you just have to stay the course and believe in yourself, and truly believe, because this is some magical stuff right now. I don’t know how to explain it…I don’t take any day for granted. Every day I come in it’s just surreal. You gotta pinch yourself, because you’re playing in the Garden. It’s one of the toughest places to play, but one of the most beautiful places to play when you’re right.”
The Garden was Eden for the trio on Wednesday. Gibson was called on to play over 30 minutes as Nerlens Noel nursed a sprained ankle and was limited to just 16 minutes. He responded by grabbing four offensive rebounds and helping hold Hawks center Clint Capela to just four points. Rose was the hero of the night with 26 points off the bench, while Thibodeau tweaked his usual five to start the second half, leaving Rose and Gibson in with the rest of the starters to try and erase a 13-point deficit.
The group responded by taking back the lead by the end of the period, igniting the Garden crowd like Thibodeau and Gibson had envisioned.
“For it to come true, and I’m playing with Derrick, who I’ve been playing with my whole career, and we have the same familiar faces but now we’re in New York City?” Gibson said. “God doesn’t make any mistakes. You just have to follow your path and stay the course.”
For the former Bulls core, the looking ahead and imagining is over. Rose and Gibson have resurrected their careers to become pillars in New York’s playoff run, with Thibodeau leading the way as a Coach of the Year candidate. The path to New York had way more detours than the group envisioned, but they’re here and making much more of an impact than most thought possible at this stage in their careers.
“We’re trying to do something special here,” Gibson said. “Right now we’re laying the groundwork, and it’s an awesome feeling.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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