NBA champion PJ Tucker has announced his retirement after a prolonged 20-year career through social media on Thursday, 7th May. PJ Tucker has not played in the league since the 2024-25 season for the New York Knicks. He only appeared in three games for them that season and then became a free agent after the Knicks didn’t renew his club options. The 41-year-old Tucker ended up playing for eight different NBA teams, winning an NBA title with the 2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks.
“20 years being my job but 40 plus years of not being able to fathom doing anything other than it,” Tucker wrote on Instagram, announcing his retirement “So here’s to retiring from the NBA… because I will NEVER stop ballin.”
He ended his career with 886 games played, nearly 25,000 total minutes played, 5,863 points, 4,778 rebounds and 1,225 assists.
PJ Tucker’s Career playing for 8 different NBA teams and 9 different playoffs
PJ Tucker started his basketball career playing for the Toronto Raptors, which started his NBA career. He spent the next five seasons playing internationally for teams in Israel, Ukraine, Greece, Italy and Germany. After which, he finally made a comeback again in the NBA playing for the Phoenix Suns in 2012. He had a long five-year stint with Phoenix, establishing himself as a defender who could do all the dirty work in different phases of the game.
Tucker then had his tenure with the Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets, too, before winning his first and only NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. He ended his later part of his career with the Miami Heat, Philadelphia, Knicks in the early to mid-2020s before hanging up his boots.
He has averaged 6.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.1 steals for his career, shooting 42.5% from the field and 36.6% from downtown mostly known for his defence and ability to deliver in corner three situations.
