Thursday, July 11, 2019

NBA Encyclopedia #7: all Andersons

2 Andersons down in the last installment, 12 more to go...10 of whom you'll see in this post.

#61 Greg "Cadillac" Anderson
1991-92 Upper Deck #314
 Greg Anderson's nickname of Cadillac is not due to the car- rather, it comes from the bicycle he used to ride in college, which his classmates referred to as his Cadillac- and the name stuck. Originally from Houston, he began his NBA career in 1987-88 with the San Antonio Spurs, and was traded to Milwaukee before the 1989-90 season. During the middle of the 1990-91 season, he was traded from the Bucks to the Nets, where he played exactly 1 game. After that single game, he was involved in a blockbuster three-team trade that saw him end up in Denver, where he played until the conclusion of 1991-92. He spent 1992-93 in Italy, then returned to the NBA with the Pistons, where he played one year. He then moved to the Hawks, where he played one more year, then returned to the Spurs for 2 seasons. His final NBA action came with the Hawks in 1997-98. His NBA career came to an abrupt end when he pleaded guilty of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. A final year in Argentina in 1999-00 was the end of his career. I do not know what he has done post career, nor if he ever actually purchased/drove a Cadillac.

#62 James Anderson
2012-13 Past & Present #150
 Hailing from El Dorado, Arkansas (cool city name) James Anderson played 247 NBA games between 2010-11 and 2015-16. He played with the Spurs, Rockets, 76ers and Kings, with the majority of his career coming in his first two and a half seasons with San Antonio. He played in Lithuania in 2014-15, and then returned to Europe in 2016-17, with Turkey, Russia, and back to Turkey. He currently plays for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Super League.

#63 Justin Anderson
2016-17 Hoops #81
 A currently active player, Justin Anderson, of Montrose, Virginia, is currently with the Atlanta Hawks, His career began in 2015-16 with the Mavs, and was traded mid-2016-17 to the 76ers. Between the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons he was traded to the Hawks. So far, he has appeared in 216 games, and scored 1154 points.

#64 Kenny Anderson
1995-96 Upper Deck Electric Court #115
 Quite probably the most successful Anderson in NBA history, Kenny hails from Queens, NY. The 2nd pick of the 1991 draft, he would become an All-Star playing for the Nets, not an easy feat. After 4 and a half seasons in New Jersey, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, where he played only for the conclusion of the 1995-96 season. He signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, and after a year was promptly traded to Toronto, which he refused to report to. A further trade led him to Boston, where he would play from mid-1997-98 through 2001-02. After that, he was traded to Seattle, where he played for half a season before being traded back to the Hornets, now in New Orleans. He joined the Pacers for 2003-04, then played a half season with the Harks, who waived him. The Clippers claimed him on waivers and his final four NBA games came with the Clippers in 2004-05. A final professional season was spent in Lithuania. In total, he appeared in 858 games, starting 693 of them, and scored 10789 points. After his career he got into coaching, and is currently recovering from a stroke suffered in February of this year. He has 8 children, one of whom is hip-hop musician Jazz Anderson.

#65 Kyle Anderson
2017-18 Panini Instant NBA Playoffs #183
A currently active player, Kyle Anderson is currently a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. His first four seasons were spent with the Spurs, but they declined to match his offer sheet with the Grizzlies. He suffered a serious injury during the season and only played 43 games for his new team. (Thoratic Compression). Currently, he has appeared in exactly 300 games, starting 140 of them, and has scored 1601 points.

#66 Mitchell Anderson
1984-85 Star #226
 Mitchell Anderson is a hard player to track down- for some reason I cannot figure out, he is listed as J.J. Anderson on Wikipedia and Basketball Reference. He had only 3 years in the NBA, 1984-85 was the last. He began with the 76ers, and was waived during his rookie season. The Jazz claimed him and the rest of his career was with the Jazz. He played only 157 games in his career and scored only 751 points. After his NBA career, he played in Italy, Spain and Greece, and played until 1999.

#67 Nick Anderson
1996-97 Collector's Choice #107
 One of the cornerstones of the early history of the Orlando Magic, Nick Anderson was the first player drafted by the club, and played in Orlando for 10 years. When his time with the club was done, he left as the all-time leading scorer, steals, and minutes played in franchise history, and he still holds the mark for most steals. He ranks second still in points, minutes, and three-pointers made. After those ten years with the Magic, he played two with the Kings and one with the Grizzlies. He currently works for the Magic, and appears on their TV broadcasts. His final career totals are 800 games played, 636 as a starter, with 11529 points scored.

#68 Ron Anderson
1992-93 Fleer #166
 Ron Anderson's NBA career lasted 10 seasons, beginning in 1984-85, but he played in Europe until 2010! He started out with a year and a half with the Cavs, then 2 and a half with Indiana. A move to the 76ers saw the best years of his NBA career, and he played with them from 1988-89 through 1992-93. His final NBA season, in 1993-94, was split between the Nets and Bullets with some time in the CBA as well.  After that, he went to Europe, spending many years in France. He also played in Israel and the USBL, finishing his career in 2010 in the French 2nd Division, which is sort of the equivalent of our D-League. His son Ron Jr. played in the D-League and France as well, and is still playing in France, but has no cards issued.

#69 Ryan Anderson
2015-16 Complete Silver #255
A currently active player, Ryan Anderson is a member of the Miami Heat. He has been in the NBA since 2008-09, first with the Nets, then the Magic. He spent 4 years with New Orleans- one as the Hornets, three as the Pelicans, and then 2 years with Houston. He was traded to the Suns before the beginning of the 2018-19 season, and was traded at the deadline to the Heat. Currently, he has appeared in 647 games, starting 289, and scoring 7996 points. He is a former winner of the NBA's Most Improved Player award, which he won after the 2011-12 season.

#70 Shandon Anderson
2002-03 Fleer Tradition Crystal #107
Shandon Anderson is one of only two players in history to wear #49. Part of the talented 1996 draft class, he would play 10 NBA seasons- 3 with Utah, 2 with Houston, 3 with the Knicks, (plus one game in a 4th year) and one last year with the Heat. While never a star, he was always a very dependable player. He won a championship with the Heat in his final season. In total, he played 719 games, starting 226 of them, with 5327 points scored. He is the younger brother of Willie Anderson, who will appear in the next post.

8 comments:

  1. I knew Kenny Anderson would be in this post. Remember the days when any half-way decent player outright refused to play in Canada? Now they just quietly sulk for a season, win a championship, and then flee the country while executing a hostile takeover of another team's star player.

    I wonder why Mitchell Anderson is also known as J.J.? It's not like there are any J's in his first name (a la Jose Juan Barea) Then again, I never understood why someone named Shawn Carter called himself Jay-Z.

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  2. I like how you put the "where are they now" segments into the post.

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    1. That's my favorite part to research but also the hardest.

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  3. Kenny and Nick are the two I'm most familiar with. Then again.. they were at the peak of their popularity when I was at the peak of my basketball card interest.

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  4. Nice Name in this title. As an Andersen I get a kick out of it. OK so my Scandinavian spelling is different than this batch of guys but still its fun. Also some names I should remember for my last name niche PC.

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    1. You should check the previous post in the series, from last month...there are some players who share your spelling

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