WHERE HE BELONGS
Taj’s dad overcomes heart transplant to see son play at MSG this season
At some point this season, Wilbert Gibson, former Brooklyn carpenter and furniture mover, will make his way to the Garden and watch his son Taj play for the Knicks.
It may not be for the Garden’s opener Oct. 26 versus the Celtics. It may not be in November. But it will be sometime this season.
“That’s what he said,’’ new Knicks power forward Taj Gibson told The Post in his first remarks since signing with the Knicks in July. “He says he’s going to try to be front row and center. It’s a long way from the upper deck when we used to go back in the day.’’
It will be a big night for the 34-year-old Gibson whenever his father is healthy enough to get to the Garden.
Just two weeks before agreeing to terms with the Knicks on July 1, Gibson’s father needed a heart transplant.
“In June. I was out there all the time with my dad,’’ said Gibson, the former Bulls defensive stalwart who had been with Minnesota the past two seasons. “We were trying for him to get healthy and recover, waiting for him to find a healthy heart.”
Wilbert got a new heart and Taj got a new team soon thereafter. On Aug. 31, Gibson will host his annual “Back to School Basketball Bash’’ at the Ingersoll Houses on Myrtle Avenue.
As a youngster in Fort Greene, Gibson would sit in the Garden’s cheap seats after his father’s rigorous work day.
“He’s excited — he used to take me to Knicks games all the time after work,’’ said Gibson, who played at Brooklyn School of Art and Technology before spending his final two scholastic years at prep schools in California. “We would be in the upper deck. He’s a blue-collar guy. I’m excited for him to be at the games. He’s almost out of the woods. He has to take his time — three-to-six months [recovery].’’
The blue-collar spirit that has marked Gibson’s career prompted Knicks brass to bring him back to New York. The Knicks own a glut of new power forwards, but Gibson is the one being tasked to influence the young players.
“I want to bring a winning attitude that’s positive: don’t take a play off,’’ said Gibson, a late firstround pick in 2009 out of USC. “I’ve been with good teams my whole career. I’ve been to the playoffs throughout my entire career. Winning is all I really know.
“That’s the thing I plan on doing. My job is to be a veteran, go in and challenge the guys every day and make my teammates better, help change the culture and push forward a winning mentality.’’
Gibson knew lots of winning in seven seasons in Chicago — mostly with ex-Knicks assistant Tom Thibodeau. A known taskmaster, Thibodeau brought Gibson to the T’Wolves and knew of Gibson’s dream to one day be a Knick.
“Once I signed with New York, one of the first phone calls I got was from Thibs,’’ Gibson said. “That’s all we ever talked about throughout my time with Thibs — we always talked about New York.
“For it to finally happen, being able to say I was finally a New York Knick was a crazy feeling. We laughed for a minute. Then he was serious. He was like, ‘If anyone is capable of playing in New York, you’re a New Yorkstyle player.’ He knows me that I will play hard every night.”
This offseason wasn’t the freeagent splash the Knicks sought but the Brooklyn kid has come home.
“I’m extremely excited,’’ Gibson said. “It’s a great opportunity to go home and play in front of my family, especially my dad. It’s good to be around family and play the game I love.’’