P. J. Tucker was relatively unknown even before he made his first attempt to play basketball in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2007. And although he was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the 2006 NBA Draft, he quickly drifted off the radar and had to take a hard, long and a rather unconventional route back to the NBA.
He played in basketball leagues in Ukraine, Israel, Greece, Germany, and Italy, winning the championships in most of them. But when he had another chance in the NBA, he was ready for the challenge and has had success since then. Read to learn more about this determined athlete.
P. J. Tucker’s Bio
P. J. Tucker was born Anthony Leon Tucker Jr. on the 5th of May 1985 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was born to the family of Anthony and Aleshia Tucker. Although he moved around a lot during his early years because his father served in the military, he grew up mostly in Germany where his father served just immediately after he was born.
Despite moving around a lot, Tucker had his high school education in his hometown, at William G. Enloe High School in Raleigh. After he graduated from there, he moved on to college and attended the University of Texas where he played basketball and the collegiate level for three years. His record in his three seasons in college includes scoring 1,169 points, 714 rebounds, 170 assists, and 116 steals.
Career
P. J. Tucker declared for the 2006 NBA Draft after graduating from college and became the 35th pick of the draft after he was selected by the Toronto Raptors. He was given a rookie contract (a two-year deal) later that year. After struggling to break into the team, Tucker was, however, offer the opportunity to play in the franchise NBA Development League affiliate – the Colorado 14ers – in 2007. He would earn a recall to the NBA after some impressive showings.
He was waived later the same year, in 2007 having only played a little above 80 minutes for the Raptors. He spent the 2007–08 season in the Israeli Premier League with Hapoel Holon, who he led to the league title for the first time in years and in the process, his team broke the 14-year siege on the title by Maccabi Tel Aviv. He was named Most Valuable Player of the season. He moved to the Ukrainian Basketball Super League where he teamed up with BC Donetsk the next season. And despite just gaining promotion to the Super League that season, he helped the team finish 3rd on the log as he had the highest average of points per game that season. This earned him a place in the Ukrainian SuperLeague All-Star.
He moved back to Israel mid-season in 2010 and joined up with the Israeli B-ball side, Bnei HaSharon for the remainder of the season. He played in Greece with Greek side, Aris BC for one season (2010–11) and then, Italy with Sutor Basket Montegranaro the following season. That same season would see Tucker sign a one-year contract with the German side, Brose Bamberg, where he won the league title with the team and also won the Finals MVP award on a personal note.
He was offered a route back to the NBA by the Phoenix Suns after he was part of their NBA Summer League camp. Tucker was given a 2-year contract and played his first comeback game in the NBA against the Golden State Warriors, which his side lost. As his performances continued to improve, he became a regular starter for the team. In July 2014, he was offered a 3-year contract extension worth $16.5 million. P. J. Tucker made a return to the Toronto Raptors in 2017 as the Suns traded him for Jared Sullinger, plus draft picks slots, plus cash.
His romance with the Raptors did not last for long as months later, he joined the Houston Rockets, signing the biggest contract in his NBA career – a $32 million contract for a four-year duration. His first game for the Rockets was against the Golden State Warriors in which he laid down a 20-point marker which was instrumental in their 122–121 victory over the Warriors. He almost made his first NBA Finals appearance in 2018, however, the Rockets lost the series that would have given them a berth in the 2018 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors.
Salary and Net Worth
P. J. Tucker contract with the Houston Rockets which he signed in 2017 is worth $32 million. It comes with a guaranteed amount of $27 million and an annual salary of roughly $7.7 million. His actual net worth is not available but it is safe to assume that he has a very comfortable net worth.
Who is P. J. Tucker’s Wife? Family, Kids
Before his adventure with Houston Rockets, especially his heroics in the 2018 NBA playoffs, no one was particularly interested in knowing about P. J. Tucker., however, that is no longer so. His stock has risen since the playoffs and fans want to know more about his personal life, so we did a little digging to see what we could find.
P.J. Tucker is married to a lady named Tracy and from what we gather, they have been together for about ten years with two kids – Aaliyah Tucker and King Tucker. There is no information about how and where they met or even other details of their love life. We also learned that he had a fling with Blac Chyna in 2015. She uploaded a video with her supposed mystery man in a nightclub and in an effort to keep his identity hidden, she did not reveal his face. But fans revealed that he was the one and it became the talk of the internet.
It was also revealed to us by a source that the Houston Rockets forward has a love child beside his two children with his wife. P. J. Tucker other child was born on January 30, 2017, by a woman known by the name Taunishia Zoa. It was also gathered that Tucker’s wife, Tracy, is aware of his baby mama and the child.
Other Facts – Height
P. J. Tucker won the Dan Majerle Hustle Award consecutively in 2013 and 2014 while he was still in the roster of the Phoneix Suns. He is the second player from the franchise (besides Grant Hill) to have won the award and remains the only one to win it twice.
The Rockets small forward’s height is measured as 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) while his weight is 111 kg (245 lbs).
He played with Shavlik Randolph as a teammate for the Suns. Their relationship goes way down to middle school as teammates and high school as rivals.
Tucker was arrested and sentenced in May 2014 for DUI.
He has a weird love for sneakers that his collection could buy an entire house. He is said to have spent about $200,000 collecting sneakers.
