Michael Anthony Sanders (born May 7, 1960) is an American retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who played primarily as a

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

. He is a former assistant coach for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Prior to being an assistant coach for

Tyrone Corbin Tyrone Kennedy Corbin (born December 31, 1962) is an American former basketball player and assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets. He was first appointed the assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns, then was named the Utah Jazz’s head coach, on Fe ...

, Sanders was the team's director of player development.

Playing career

Born in

Vidalia, Louisiana Vidalia is the largest city and the parish seat of Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,299 as of the 2010 census. Vidalia is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The city of Natchez, Mississippi, lies ...

, Sanders was selected by the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division ( ...

with the 74th overall pick of the 1982 NBA draft after the close of his college career at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Over the course of 11 NBA seasons, Sanders averaged eight points and three

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game. He played for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

and

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

during this time. Early in his career, Sanders played parts of two seasons in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) for the

Montana Golden Nuggets The Montana Golden Nuggets are a former Continental Basketball Association team that played from 1980 to 1983. They played their home games at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. Montana reached the CBA finals in 1981 and 1983, with George Kar ...

and Sarasota Stingers. He averaged 23.3 points and 8.9 rebounds in 37 career games in the league, earning All-Defensive second team honors in 1983.

Coaching career

After retiring from the NBA, Sanders became a head coach of the

Black Hills Gold The Black Hills Gold was an American professional basketball club based in Rapid City, South Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association for a single season (1999/2000). The team followed two previous Rapid City IBA teams, th ...

in the IBA, the Wisconsin Blast of the IBA and the

Adirondack Wildcats Adirondack may refer to: Places *Adirondack Mountains, New York, US **Adirondack Park, a protected area in the US, containing a large portion of the Adirondack Mountains * Adirondack County, New York, a proposed county in New York * Adirondack, Ne ...

of the

USBL The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

. Sanders also served as an assistant coach with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

and

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

.Dell Curry changes mind, steps down as Bobcats assistant; Mike Sanders replaces him on bench
/ref>

Notes

External links

@ basketballreference.com

@ NBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Mike 1960 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Asheville Altitude coaches Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from Louisiana Charlotte Bobcats assistant coaches Cleveland Cavaliers players Continental Basketball Association coaches Detroit Pistons assistant coaches Indiana Pacers players Kansas City Kings draft picks Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Montana Golden Nuggets players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Vidalia, Louisiana Phoenix Suns players San Antonio Spurs players Sarasota Stingers players Shooting guards UCLA Bruins men's basketball players United States Basketball League coaches Utah Jazz assistant coaches 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople