MIAMI — You can teach an old player new skills.
Taj Gibson, 36, has flashed a highly proficient 3-point shot that may help extend his career, delaying perhaps his eventual foray into coaching.
Gibson has drained eight of his last nine 3-pointers, a stretch dating back to January. It’s a small sample size but Gibson has finally earned Tom Thibodeau’s trust from long distance, providing the Knicks their only outside threat among their four centers.
His 12 3-pointers heading into Friday’s game against the Heat is already a career best.
“He didn’t let me shoot as much as I wanted to,” Gibson said of his longtime coach. “Now he’s seen me putting the work in and now he’s seen guys like, ‘Hey, Taj is really working,’ he’s like, ‘Alright, shoot it.’ I’m rocking out with it right now.”
Gibson, the eighth-oldest player in the NBA, has a team option on his contract for next season at $5.2 million, which is above his market value and will probably send him into free agency. The emergence of Jericho Sims has left the Knicks with a surplus of centers, but starter Mitchell Robinson could leave as an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
He wants to return.
“God willing, but we’ll see what happens,” Gibson said. “Right now I can only focus on what I can control. …This is a great job. I’m a professional. I’m just going to continue to keep enjoying it.”
Thibodeau, who has coached Gibson for nine seasons at three different spots, called the Brooklyn native’s transition to 3-point shooting as “natural.”
“He was always a good midrange 15-to-17 foot shooter and then he’s really worked hard at getting the corner-3 down and he’s comfortable now,” Thibodeau said. “Look at a guy like [Paul] Millsap, when he added a 3 his game, it changed for the better. I think you’re seeing most teams now one of their centers is a stretch-5. And so it opens up the floor, it allows you to cut to the basket, it leaves the basket unprotected. So it adds a lot to your offense.”
Gibson was pulled from the rotation in late February to create an opportunity for Sims. Always the utility man, however, he has returned as the first backup because of injuries.
There always seems a spot for a Gibson, at least on a team coached by Thibodeau. And when it’s over, a spot on Thibodeau’s bench may be waiting.
“For sure [I want to coach], because I love being around the game,” Gibson said. “It comes easy to me. You’ve got to love watching film. I love just being around the guys. I love having the communication.”
Thibodeau, who has an open spot on his bench after Kenny Payne left for the University of Louisville, gave an endorsement for Gibson as a coach.
“I think he’d be great,” Thibodeau said. “He wants to play as long as he can, but I think he’d be terrific.”
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