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Former Phoenix Suns fan favorite P.J. Tucker recently announced his retirement from basketball.

P.J. Tucker’s NBA career did not end with the Phoenix Suns, but Phoenix made sure to acknowledge one of the most important stops in his basketball life.

The Suns congratulated Tucker after the veteran forward announced his retirement from professional basketball on May 7, posting a photo of him in a white Phoenix uniform with the message: “Congrats P.J. on your retirement.” For Suns fans, it was more than a polite alumni post. Phoenix was the franchise that gave Tucker his second NBA chance after years overseas, and he turned that opportunity into a career that lasted more than a decade.

Tucker, 41, finished his NBA career having played for the Raptors, Suns, Rockets, Bucks, Heat, 76ers, Clippers and Knicks. He appeared in 886 NBA regular-season games and averaged 6.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals, according to Basketball Reference.

PJ Tucker Announced His Retirement on Social Media on May 7

Tucker announced his retirement on Instagram, closing a career defined by toughness, defensive versatility and persistence. Bleacher Report’s Julia Stumbaugh reported that Tucker shared the news on May 7 after last playing for the New York Knicks during the 2024-25 season.

The Suns’ response landed because Tucker’s Phoenix chapter was not a footnote. It was the turning point.

Tucker was drafted by the Toronto Raptors in the second round in 2006, but his first NBA stint was brief. He then spent years overseas before the Suns brought him back to the league in 2012. Phoenix officially signed Tucker on August 1, 2012, after he played for the team’s Las Vegas Summer League squad.

That gamble became one of the better low-cost finds of that Suns era.

Tucker played for Phoenix from 2012 to 2017, appearing in 377 games with the franchise. He was never the highest scorer on those teams, but he became one of their most recognizable tone-setters, the kind of player who guarded bigger stars, chased loose balls and gave rebuilding or transitional Suns teams a defensive edge.

Tucker’s retirement is a reminder that Phoenix helped relaunch a career that later stretched across contenders, playoff runs and a championship team.

PJ Tucker Earned More Than $100 Million in His NBA Career

Tucker’s career also became a financial success story.

Spotrac lists Tucker with $100,176,629 in career NBA earnings through 2025. That number is notable because Tucker did not enter the league as a lottery pick or instant star. He was the No. 35 pick in the 2006 NBA draft, left the NBA after a short rookie stint and had to rebuild his value outside the league before returning with Phoenix.

The Suns were central to that climb. Tucker’s first Phoenix contract was a two-year deal worth $1.65 million, per Spotrac. After proving himself, he landed a three-year, $16.5 million deal with the Suns in 2014.

From there, Tucker became a trusted veteran for teams with bigger postseason goals. He signed a four-year, $31.9 million deal with the Houston Rockets in 2017, a two-year, $14.35 million deal with the Miami Heat in 2021 and a three-year, $33 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2022, according to Spotrac.

That path is part of Tucker’s legacy. He did not become a star in the traditional box-score sense. He became a specialist valuable enough that contenders kept paying for his defense, strength, corner shooting and locker-room credibility.

PJ Tucker Won a Championship With the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021

Tucker’s most famous postseason run came with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, when he helped the franchise win its first NBA championship in 50 years.

For Suns fans, that title comes with a complicated twist: Tucker won it against Phoenix.

The Bucks defeated the Suns in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals, with Tucker playing a rugged defensive role for Milwaukee. Tucker lpayed in all six games while averaging 31.3 minutes in the series.

His numbers in that Finals series were modest, but his assignment was not. Tucker’s value came in the physical work that rarely leads highlight packages: switching, absorbing contact, boxing out and making scorers feel him over a long series.

That made his Suns salute fitting. Phoenix did not get the championship version of Tucker in 2021, but Suns fans saw the foundation years earlier. They watched the undersized forward turn effort into a skill, defense into a paycheck and a second NBA chance into a long career.

Tucker’s retirement closes the book on one of the league’s more unusual modern careers. He went from second-round pick to overseas standout, from Suns reclamation project to playoff enforcer, from role player to NBA champion.

And for Phoenix, the farewell is personal because the Suns were not just another stop. They were the place where Tucker’s NBA career truly restarted.