Taj Gibson just landed in a strange corner of NBA history.
ESPN's trade tracker listed Gibson as part of Tuesday's deal between Memphis and New Orleans, with the Pelicans receiving AJ Johnson and Gibson while the Grizzlies received Jordan Hawkins. Because Gibson is 41, the move also became a record chase.
A Reddit post checked the historical angle through Basketball-Reference pages and found that Gibson is now the second-oldest player in NBA history to be traded. The only older player on that list is Bob Cousy, who was traded to the Cincinnati Royals on Nov. 18, 1969.
The margin is tiny. Gibson was 15,051 days old on Sept. 8, 2026. Cousy, born Aug. 9, 1928, was 15,076 days old when he was moved to Cincinnati. That leaves Gibson just 25 days short of the oldest-traded-player mark.
Cousy was in a different basketball situation. He was coaching the Royals that season and appeared in only seven games, scoring five total points. Gibson's case is more about longevity in a modern league where 41-year-olds rarely remain movable roster pieces.
The stakes are modest. Still, Gibson's name now sits next to Cousy's in a record category untouched for more than half a century.
No comments yet. Start the conversation.