P.J. Tucker Announces Retirement After Journeyman Career in NBA

P.J. Tucker has retired from the NBA. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

P.J. Tucker announced he was retiring from the NBA on Instagram on Thursday night. Tucker, 41, last played three games for the Knicks in the 2024-25 season, but didn’t suit up for an NBA team this past year.

His most memorable campaign may have been with the Milwaukee Bucks, when he helped them win an NBA championship in 2020-21. That postseason, he played 23 games for the Bucks while averaging 4.3 points and 4.8 rebounds en route to winning his first ever title.

Tucker announced he was calling it quits in an emotional message on his social media in the middle of this year’s NBA playoffs.

“20 years being my job but 40 plus years of not being able to fathom doing anything other than it. So here’s to retiring from the NBA… because I will NEVER stop ballin,” Tucker wrote in the caption of his Instagram post.

Several NBA stars have since wished him the best in the comments section, from Russell Westbrook to Karl-Anthony Towns.

Tucker played for eight different teams across 14 NBA seasons, including the Suns, Rockets and 76ers. He was drafted by Toronto in 2006 but struggled to find his footing in the pros early on. After his one-year rookie stint in Toronto, he took his talents overseas and spent the next five years hooping internationally.

Tucker returned to the NBA in ‘12 to make a name for himself as a smart role-player and tough defender with plenty of playoff experience. He has since racked in roughly $90 million over the course of his NBA career, according to Spotrac.

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