- Chris Andersen
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Not to be confused with Chris Anderson.For other people named Christopher Andersen, see Christopher Andersen (disambiguation).
Chris Andersen 
No. 11 Denver Nuggets Power forward / Center Personal information Date of birth July 7, 1978 Place of birth Long Beach, California Nationality American High school Iola (Iola, Texas) Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) Listed weight 228 lb (103 kg) Career information College Blinn College NBA Draft 1999 / Undrafted Pro career 1999–present Career history 1999–2000 Jiangsu Nangang (China) 2000–2001 Fargo-Moorhead Beez (IBA) 2001 Fayetteville Patriots (D-League) 2001–2004 Denver Nuggets 2004–2006, 2008 New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets 2008–present Denver Nuggets Stats at NBA.com Chris Andersen (born July 7, 1978) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association. Nicknamed "Birdman",[1] the 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), 228 lb (103 kg; 16.3 st) center/power forward received a two year ban from the NBA in 2006 for violating the league's drug policy,[2] but was reinstated on March 4, 2008, and re-signed by the Hornets the next day.
Andersen was born in Long Beach, California, grew up in Iola, Texas, and played one year at Blinn College. He went undrafted in the 1999 NBA Draft and began his professional career in the Chinese Basketball League, and has played in the NBA for the Denver Nuggets and the New Orleans Hornets.
Contents
NBA Development League
Andersen was the first overall pick in the 2001 NBDL Draft and played one season with the Fayetteville Patriots.
NBA
Slam Dunk Contest
Andersen appeared in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Weekend in 2004 and 2005, finishing 2nd and 4th (out of 4), respectively.[3]
Expulsion and reinstatement
On January 25, 2006, Andersen was disqualified from the NBA for violating the league's anti-drug policy by testing positive for a banned substance.[4] Andersen's suspension fell under the league's category of "drugs of abuse," violation of which is possible grounds for expulsion from the NBA under the league's collective bargaining agreement.[5] Andersen attempted to appeal the ruling through arbitration, but the arbitrator ruled to uphold his dismissal in March 2006.[5] He was eligible for reinstatement effective January 25, 2008.[6]
On March 4, 2008, the NBA and NBA Players Association granted Andersen's request to be reinstated as an NBA player.[7] The reinstatement was effective immediately, and the rights to his services belonged to his former team, the New Orleans Hornets, who signed him to a contract on March 5, 2008. On March 25, 2008, in a game against the Indiana Pacers, he played for the first time in an NBA game since being banned.
Return to Denver
Following the 2007–08 NBA season, Andersen was released by the Hornets. Andersen signed a one-year contract with the Nuggets on July 24, 2008.[8] Andersen finished the season 2nd in the league in blocks per game at 2.42 per contest, despite a mere 20.5 minutes of playtime per game. His 5.68 blocks per 48 minutes played was the best in the NBA.
On July 8, 2009, Andersen and the Nuggets agreed on a five-year contract that could be worth up to $26 million. In order to help the Nuggets financially, the deal is backloaded and will pay Andersen $3.7 million in 2010–11.
Personal
His trademark has been his "Birdman" celebration, wherein he would cross his arms and flap his hands like the wings of a bird after scoring on an emphatic dunk or blocking a shot. He is known for brightly colored tattoos on his arms, chest, neck, back, hands and legs.
NBA career statistics
Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game FG% Field-goal percentage 3P% 3-point field-goal percentage FT% Free-throw percentage RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 2001–02 Denver 24 1 10.9 .338 .000 .786 3.2 .3 .3 1.2 3.0 2002–03 Denver 59 3 15.4 .400 .000 .550 4.6 .5 .5 1.0 5.2 2003–04 Denver 71 0 14.5 .443 .000 .589 4.2 .5 .5 1.6 3.4 2004–05 New Orleans 67 2 21.3 .534 .000 .689 6.1 1.1 .2 1.5 7.7 2005–06 NO/Oklahoma City 32 2 17.8 .571 .000 .476 4.8 .2 .2 1.3 5.0 2007–08 New Orleans 5 0 6.8 .286 .000 .500 1.8 .0 .0 .8 1.2 2008–09 Denver 71 1 20.6 .548 .200 .718 6.2 .4 .6 2.5 6.4 2009–10 Denver 76 0 22.3 .566 .000 .695 6.4 .4 .6 1.9 5.9 2010–11 Denver 45 0 16.3 .599 .000 .637 4.9 .4 .5 1.3 5.6 Career 450 9 18.0 .506 .087 .644 5.3 .5 .4 1.6 5.4 Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 2003–04 Denver 5 0 6.8 .333 .000 .000 2.8 .4 .2 .4 1.2 2008–09 Denver 15 0 21.9 .630 .000 .659 6.3 .6 .3 2.1 6.5 2009–10 Denver 6 0 19.3 .529 .000 .643 4.5 .2 .2 1.0 4.5 2010–11 Denver 5 0 14.6 .636 .000 .714 2.8 .6 .6 1.4 4.8 Career 31 0 17.8 .582 .000 .667 4.8 .5 .3 1.5 5.0 See also
References
- ^ NBA.com: Chris Andersen Bio Page
- ^ - "Hornets' Andersen kicked out of NBA for drug use"
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080415
- ^ Hornets' Andersen kicked out of NBA for drug use, ESPN.com, January 27, 2006.
- ^ a b Associated Press, [1], ESPN.com, January 25, 2008.
- ^ Tim Kuhls, The "Birdman" Should Get a Second Chance, The Cornell Daily Sun, February 22, 2007.
- ^ NBA and Players Association Reinstate Chris Andersen, NBA.com, March 4, 2008.
- ^ Nuggets Sign Andersen
External links
- Chris Andersen at NBA.com
- Chris Andersen at Basketball-Reference.com
- Chris Andersen's Career Story – ESPN.com
- Chris Andersen's Birdman Basketball Camp
Denver Nuggets current roster Head coach: Karl | Assistant coaches: Hunt | Welch | Iske
NBA Development League first overall draft picks Categories:- 1978 births
- Living people
- American basketball players
- American expatriate basketball people in China
- American sportspeople in doping cases
- Basketball players from California
- Basketball players from Texas
- Blinn College alumni
- Centers (basketball)
- Denver Nuggets players
- Doping cases in basketball
- Junior college men's basketball players in the United States
- New Orleans Hornets players
- People from Long Beach, California
- People from Grimes County, Texas
- Power forwards (basketball)
- Undrafted National Basketball Association players
- Fayetteville Patriots players
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