Taj Gibson was emotional after the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of their first-round playoffs series. The veteran big man is happy to be right where he is, demonstrating that you need to trust the process and keep pushing because life and God have big plans for you.
After the Knicks earned a huge win over the Hawks, Gibson remembered everything he lived to be where he is right now. He talked about Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose and how their paths have been crossed during their respective careers.
They are competing in the NBA playoffs after years of struggles, and that makes the player happy.
“It’s so surreal,” Gibson said. “Like I tell the young guys, who wake up and they may not know where the path’s gonna lead them, where the game’s gonna take them, just trust your heart. Don’t worry about what nobody’s gonna say, because I sat years ago as a rookie or maybe my second year, every day with Thibs after practice talking about the Knicks, we talked about the battles, we talked about how great it would be to play them one day.
“And then for it to come true, then 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, God doesn’t make many mistakes, man. You just got to follow your path. You gotta believe in yourself. Stay the course. The course is always going to be rocky. But you just gotta stay the course and believe in yourself.
“This is some magical stuff right now. I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t take anything for granted, but every day I come in, it’s just surreal.”
An emotional Taj Gibson on winning a playoff game with Tom Thibodeau and Derrick Rose after all they've been through:
"This is some magical stuff right now. I don't know how to explain it. I don't take anything for granted, but every day I come in, it's just surreal." pic.twitter.com/qF95Iz4tYD
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 27, 2021
In case you don’t remember, Gibson, Rose and Thibs were part of the Chicago Bulls, then the Minnesota Timberwolves and now with the Knicks. The last couple of seasons in Chicago weren’t great and their tenure in Minny wasn’t the best of all.
Things are different; they are in a good position when nobody believed in them. They’re ready to keep pushing in the Eastern Conference. Understandably, Gibson feels this way. The hard work has paid off and they won’t let this opportunity go just like that.
