NBA Players That Should Retire in 2024

• Age: 39
• NBA Seasons: 15
• Current Team: Detroit Pistons

Taj Gibson is a great vet to have in the locker room, which is why a young team like Detroit signed him to a 10-day contract in March and then kept him for the rest of the season.

However, the numbers clearly show why Gibson is high on the list of NBA players that should retire. He played four games for the Pistons, averaging 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.8 minutes a game.

His best years came in Chicago, who drafted him out of USC with the 26^th pick in 2009. Gibson was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He averaged 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 2013-14, and provided the Bulls with defense, toughness, and energy.

Gibson has a good basketball mind, so it’s not difficult to see him going into coaching. However, his playing days are past him, and he might not get another contract. It’s best for Gibson to just bow out now.

• Age: 37
• NBA Seasons: 15
• Current Team: Atlanta Hawks

Wesley Matthews spent last season in Atlanta, where he averaged 3.1 points in 11.5 minutes. Like Gibson (and every other player on this list), Matthews is a solid veteran to have in the room. Young players would do well to watch how he takes care of himself and prepares for games.

Matthews was undrafted but signed with Utah in 2009. He was then traded to Portland in 2010, and for about eight years, Matthews was the definition of a 3-and-D player: he was a great defensive player who could also regularly hit three-pointers.

He provided some of that in his later years, but Matthews isn’t the player he used to be. He’s not even a good defender anymore, although you can chalk that up to Atlanta being bad as a team. The main issue is that Matthews’ legs are gone, which is a good sign that an NBA player should retire.

• Age: 37
• NBA Seasons: 15
• Current Team: Indiana Pacers

James Johnson was drafted by Chicago in 2009 with the 16^th pick, going ten spots higher than his teammate, Gibson. He has played for 10 teams (including Toronto twice), but his best season came in 2016-17 in Miami. Johnson averaged 12.8 points and 4.9 rebounds back then.

Pretty decent for a guy who was never a 30-minute-a-game player, but brought toughness and grit, with the occasional high-flying dunk.

Johnson signed with Indiana in September 2022, then was waived in February 2023 as the Pacers needed roster room for trades. He re-signed with the team four days after he was waived.

Johnson signed another deal with the Pacers in December 2023, then was waived in January because of another trade. Two days later, he signed a 10-day contract, then another, then a rest-of-the-season deal.

Johnson was signed two days after the Pacers had a confrontation with Milwaukee in a loss to the Bucks. Indiana required toughness, and Johnson brings that. Even at 37 years old, Johnson was named the player that NBA players would least like to fight in an anonymous survey from The Athletic.

• Age: 38
• NBA Seasons: 14
• Current Team: Toronto Raptors

Garrett Temple has been around the league and back, playing for 13 teams, including three teams in each of his first two seasons. His career-high average of 10.3 points in 2019-20 in Brooklyn, his 10^th year in the NBA.

However, it has gone downhill for Temple since then. He played 27 games for Toronto last season, averaging 3.3 points in 10.7 minutes. Toronto is another young team that could have used a good veteran, and Temple would provide that.

Like everyone else on this list, Temple doesn’t have a contract for next season yet. If he doesn’t get one by the beginning of the season, or even by December, Temple should retire from the NBA.

• Age: 35
• NBA Seasons: 9
• Current Team: Houston Rockets

Boban Marjanovic grew up in Serbia and played in Europe from 2006 to 2015. He was the Serbia League MVP from 2013 to 2015. Marjanovic then signed with San Antonio in 2015 and has played for six teams in nine seasons.

The 7-foot-4 Serbian has averaged 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game throughout his career. He is affectionately nicknamed “Bobie”, and by all accounts, Marjanovic is one of the best teammates in the league. He always has a smile on his face and everyone loves him.

However, in today’s NBA, it’s tough to put a 7-foot-4 player on the floor as Marjanovic will be targeted for pick and rolls as long as he’s in the game. He averaged 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 5.1 minutes last year with the Rockets, and he is also out of contract. While everyone loves Marjanovic, it’s tough to validate giving him a roster spot.