Rockets Wish PJ Tucker a Happy Retirement

It's been a while since we've seen PJ Tucker on the basketball court. In fact, his last season was technically during the 2024-25 calendar year with the New York Knicks.

Even then, Tucker didn't actually play much that season, as he played just three games that year. To no fault of his own. 39 year old role players aren't really a thing, outside of a player's coach role.

Much like Jeff Green has been for this iteration of the Houston Rockets. Tucker won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020-21, following a four year run with the Houston Rockets, that saw both he and the Rockets make it past the first round of the postseason in each of their postseason runs.

In fact, the Rockets reached the Western Conference Finals in his first season with the franchise and his defensive versatility played a major role, as he was able to effectively defend Kevin Durant -- a claim that not many can make.

Granted, Durant will likely still average 25 points regardless of the defensive pressure, but Tucker made him work for it. The Rockets pushed the super team Golden State Warriors to tough matchups in the playoffs in consecutive postseason appearances.

A claim that wouldn't have otherwise been made without Tucker.Tucker was a standout 3-and-D ace for the Rockets, who hustled on both ends of the floor and was tasked with defending the opposing team's top scoring threat on a nightly basis. Tucker never received the praise or recognition, at least on the national scale.

He never received any accolades. Offensively, Tucker was capable of getting to his spots (generally in the corner of the floor, behind the 3-spot line) and making open shots, due to the offensive gravity created by James Harden, in the heliocentric offense that Mike D'Antoni pioneered.

On Thursday, Tucker announced his official retirement on social media, posting the below caption.

"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."

The Rockets' official account wished Tucker a happy retirement, following the announcement.

"Congratulations on your retirement, P.J. Tucker. Thank you for the memories in H-Town! ❤️🚀"

Tucker played a total of 14 seasons in the NBA and made $90.6 million in total, which is quite a feat for a second-round draft pick.

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