Booby: Where is He Now?
CLEVELAND- June 2, 2007, Cavs fans are experiencing a hope turn into a reality. They watch as a hero steps in the fourth quarter and wills the Cavaliers past the Pistons in the eastern conference finals. But who is this hero? Lebron? Hughes? Z?
Cavs fans inch off their seat as they see the first three-pointer drop down the nylon as silky as the shot that released it. The threes continue to pour, each one creating new chaos in Quick and Loans Arena. Fans are in shock at the prospect of going to the NBA finals, but even more shocked at who led them there.
Daniel Gibson or 'Booby' as he is known in Cleveland picked quite a night to unleash his best performance of his rookie season, going 5-5 from three with four of those threes coming in the fourth quarter.
Booby led all scorers even, and yes, that includes even Lebron James, with 31 points in perhaps the most important game in Cavs history to that point. An incredible performance, but an unlikely one. If you were to ask Cavs fans before game six who they thought would be their hero, they would be reluctant to say their 42nd overall pick from Texas.
Game 6 jumped Daniel Gibson to Booby Gibson. He became a Cleveland fan favorite almost overnight. To this day, he is one of Cleveland's most beloved players to ever suit up in the wine and gold. But it does beg a significant question: What happened to Booby Gibson?
Booby played seven years in the NBA, with his best year after the NBA Finals in 2008, where he averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 44% from three. The following year the Cavs committed to Booby, signing him to a five-year deal worth 21 million dollars. However, Booby had an ankle injury that needed surgically repaired.
After his surgery, Booby never averaged over 10 points a game in his career again. His role was also becoming diminished after the NBA’s best player and best contributor to his success, Lebron James left for Miami.
After Lebron's departure, it seemed as if Booby was on a steady decline. Perhaps the final nail in the coffin for him came in 2011 when the Cavs drafted another point guard: Kyrie Irving.
The Cavs were looking towards their future. Even though Booby was productive in his career with the Cavs, his ankle issues loomed large in their decision to move on from him.
A hard pill to swallow for many Cavs fans; they weren't just saying goodbye to a player, but an era of Basketball that came with many memories. Cavs fans alike can tell you about their experience with Booby's infamous game six and every subsequent big-time three pointer he hit after that.
Booby was not Lebron James, but he was an iatrical part of what made those Cavs teams succeed. Cleveland fans appreciated and recognized that which made it hard to see him go.
After the Cavs moved on from Gibson, he sat on the market for a year, and in October of 2015, he would announce his retirement from Basketball.
Gibson announced the decision to retire and focus on a rap career during an interview on a New York Urban Radio station.
The decision was peculiar and challenging for some fans to wrap their heads around. Not many NBA players decide to leave for a music career; in fact, most players who look to pursue a rap career do it while they are in the league (Dame Lillard, Shaquille O'Neal).
However, in 2017 Gibson came out and admitted that his decision to leave Basketball was not just to pursue a career in rap music. After his departure from Cleveland, Booby had gotten divorced, lost his Grandmother, and had another ankle surgery. This left him stagnant and many teams unwilling to take a chance on him.
“I was just hit with a flurry of events,” Gibson said in an interview. "Mentally, it just took away my ability to work out. I was suffering from depression and anxiety. Honestly, Basketball was my sanctuary, but I couldn't even do that."
Gibson, a father of one, struggled to keep his head above water.
"I really got to the point where being alive wasn't something that I wanted anymore," Gibson said. "But I can speak about it so freely now because I feel comfortable, and I know that there are people out there who are in it and can't speak to it."
Gibson says that pursuing his music career wasn't something he wanted to do instead of Basketball. Still, it gave him a release from his anxiety and depression.
“I just started writing, and someone close to me had started to read some of my work and kept up on what I was doing,” Gibson said. “He ended up telling me about ways that I could express myself and release my feelings through music with nobody around except a microphone. So I started doing that and writing about how I felt, what I wanted to feel like, what I wanted to accomplish, and it all just kept me going. It – along with my son – basically saved my life.”
In 2017 Gibson starred in a reality show with his ex-wife called love and Hip Hop. In an interview with Marc Spears, Gibson said he was grateful for the show's timing because fans got to see a different side of him.
“They just automatically assume just because every other [basketball] rapper before, I would say, wasn't that good or didn't have time, they kind of jump to conclusions.” Said Gibson, “But with the show, it is like, ‘He is actually doing it.’ It’s a different set of fans. I think it opened up people’s eyes to the idea of me doing it. It’s been good for me.”
In the show, he does mention whether or not he wanted to make a return to Basketball.
“Yes. But in terms of the NBA, it’s tough because of the injuries that I have had with my ankle, my knee, my back. It started to be challenging to play 82 games and compete at a high level.”
Still, Gibson wanted to be back on the court but in a much different capacity. The premise of playing back to backs on the road was for Gibson, and many other former NBA players, too much.
“I got in with Keyon Dooling and Corey Maggette, and we created 'The Champions League,' which is a league for guys who still have names and can still play at a high level but might not be able to play five games in seven nights," Gibson said. “Guys like myself, Mike Bibby, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Al Harrington, Jason Williams. We would go play in smaller markets.”
Sounds familiar right? A year later, rapper Ice Cube pioneered a new league for former NBA players called the BIG3. Booby did not want to play in their first season due to his knee and ankle injuries that he had recently endured. But in 2019, he decided to sign with the BIG3.
Gibson has yet to play in the BIG3. His return to action will be one that Cavs fans alike are excited to see, and especially excited to see that signature Booby stroke on the floor again.
Booby will always be apart of the Cavalier faithful, and the Cleveland faithful will always be apart of him. In his interview with Marc Spears, Booby eludes the feelings he felt watching the Cavs 2016 title run.
“I cried, man. I get invested, man. I only played for the Cavaliers. They love me to death every time I go there now. They roll out the red carpet. I don't have to pay for anything." Said Gibson, "The first year they went to the Finals and LeBron went to the Finals, that was my rookie year. To go through what we went through, losing 25 games in a row, and they were still packing it out. … Man, when they won, I was sitting on the couch. I couldn't believe it. I felt like I got me [a title] too. If we don't lose, they don't get Kyrie, if we didn't stink it up like we did. I was a part of that.”
I am sure Cleveland fans would have no problem lumping in Booby Gibson with the 2016 title team and giving him an honorary ring.