CHICAGO -- The large door to the Chicago Bulls' locker room opened and the dash to get inside was on. Reporters were hungry for quotes from players after the Bulls' best win of the season to date, a 111-105 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As usual, the antsy media planted itself in front of Taj Gibson's locker and waited for the veteran forward to wax poetic on his team's big night. Gibson serves as both the longest-tenured Bull, in his eighth season, and the moral compass of the group. Want to get a read on how things are going on the floor and in the locker room? Talk to Taj.
As Bulls All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler took notice of the crowd surrounding Gibson's locker, large enough to infringe upon his own personal space near his own locker, Butler chided his friend as he made his way to the shower.
"Taj," Butler said. "They better not be in front of my locker when I get back."
Butler was serious, but he was also happy. The pair has been together for five years and Butler, like the rest of his teammates, was glad to see Gibson be so dominant on such a big stage. In 40 minutes, Gibson racked up 23 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal while going 10-for-13 from the field. It was arguably the most complete game of Gibson's career, but after it was over he wanted to make sure that people knew he has been performing at the same high level all season.
"Physically, I've been doing that the whole year," Gibson said. "My game hasn't stopped. I've been doing that the whole year. The whole year I've been going in the paint. But tonight my teammates made an emphasis for me to attack the paint. And Robin attacked the paint. That's the way we've been playing all year."
Gibson is right. Since training camp opened, he has been the most consistent player on his team. While Butler and Dwyane Wade rack up the deserved headlines, Gibson and center Robin Lopez have been steady and solid for months. Despite the bumps and bruises, Gibson is relatively healthy for the first time in a while. He has worked hard on his game and is confident in his production. As much as Butler tries to give him a hard time, much the same way a younger brother would, he appreciates Gibson for who he is and what he does for the team.
"Want to know the truth?" Butler said, when asked why Gibson is playing at an even higher level this season. "Because every night, every morning that I'm in the gym, he's in the gym. And I'm in the gym a lot so I know what Taj is capable of. That's why every time he's on the block, you'll always see someone looking to get him the ball because he's constantly working on his game. So we know the move he's going to do, but he's going to get a basket or he's going to get an offensive rebound because he works so incredibly hard.
"He fell in love with the process. He did. He loves the work. And whenever you do that, it's no surprise to ya'll, it's no surprise to us, the amount of success he's having. He's going to keep having that success because he's always going to be working."
Gibson, who is in the final year of a four-year contract, has always been beloved by players and coaches for his team-first attitude, but he has taken his game to new heights because of the offensive confidence he continues to show.
"When you're on championship teams competing for a championship trying to go deep in the playoffs or trying to do special things, guys are going to have to sacrifice their game," he said. "Everybody can't play big minutes, everybody can't take shots. I'm one of the guys that sacrifices my game for the good of the team. Whatever the coach wants me to do, I'm going to go out there and do what the coach wants me to do. If the coach wants me to set 100 screens and not take a shot, I'm going to do that. It's all about helping the team. And that's what I've been doing all these years."
But then Gibson added a caveat. Like Butler, he was a late first-round pick who wasn't supposed to have a long NBA career. Now he has become the heart and soul of a Bulls team that continues to surprise people all over the league. Gibson took the challenge of improving his game on a young team and ran with it.
"I've been staying in the gym," Gibson said. "I like when people underestimate me because I stay in the gym, I put the work in, but at the same time it's fun, man. I've been here a long time. I can't worry about those things. As long as I'm out there enjoying myself, having fun, and playing with great teammates, I'm blessed."
On the night when Wade and LeBron James stole the spotlight, Gibson did what he has done throughout his career. He stayed in the shadows and just kept playing hard. But to Gibson's credit, he offered up one hell of a compliment when asked why it seems he and the Bulls always raise their level of play when they see James on the floor.
"LeBron, he's that dude, man," Gibson said. "I'm happy to be able to say that for most of my career I was able to play big games against him. Playoffs, regular games, rivalries, whatever you want to call it, because he's the man. He came in here with a Cubs jersey, it was all fun and laughs but like I told everybody -- 'He's coming in here, we got to play him.' No time to laugh around, play around, that guy's been in here many years and really shut us down to try to go to the promised land so every time that I see him or if I see any team that he's on, I try to just play my best in big games that players want. You want to go out there and show what you're capable of doing, show what your team's capable of doing and it's good for us to try and set a statement in the East."
