On March 18th against the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bull and USC’s all-time leading shot blocker, Taj Gibson injured his right toe. As a result of the injury, Gibson has to wear a larger than normal shoe. How much bigger? Gibson wears a size 15 1/2 on his left foot and a size 18 on his right foot.

Gibson said of his predicament:

“I hate it. Because it’s kind of hard; with [coach Tom Thibodeau’s] philosophy, he allows me to switch on multiple positions and it’s been kind of rough because the shoe is so big, it has so much room in the front so I don’t really know where to get my tracking, or where to get my steps in balance at, so at times it’s rough. The tape job is tough, because it’s still painful. Just figure out ways to get around [the injuries].”

Gibson went on to say:

“I’m a team player. I’m there for my teammates. I’m there to show that there’s no excuses. No matter what I do I’m going to put my best effort forward. It’s going to take a lot to keep me out of the game. It’s my dream to play in the NBA. I’m going to take advantage of every single minute, every single day.”

“Just take it one day at a time. Go get treatment on days off, get a massage. I’ve just been watching a lot of TV, listening to old veterans, what they do. I even watched an old football clip with Michael Strahan. He said he would lift, not a lot, but some. Get something in, get treatment. And I look at what Kurt [Thomas] does. [He] gets treatment on days off, gets lifts in. I’ve been doing that consistently [and] eating healthy.”

“Even when they taped me up and gave me that size 18 shoe I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? I wear a 15½. What am I doing with a [size] 18 shoe? This isn’t football where they just stand there. I got to chase people around and run and jump. But I’ve been accepting to it, and the last couple games have been OK.”

Head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Gibson’s toughness:

“He’s been great. He played well initially when he was starting and then I think he went through an adjustment [when] he had an injury, and going to the bench, but I think he’s figured that out and he’s played terrific. You couldn’t ask for anything more. His energy’s great. His defense is off the charts. And I think he’s gotten more comfortable offensively. Guys are nicked up right now, but he doesn’t show it when he plays. He plays tough every night and we need that.”

Gibson is averaging 7.0 pts, 5.6 rebounds and 1.39 blocks in 21 minutes per game. He does all the little things to help his team win. The Bulls are in position to grab the top seed in the Eastern conference heading into playoffs.