Ryan Philip Saunders (born April 28, 1986) is an American basketball assistant coach for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

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). He is known for his work as a Head coach for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

and in player development with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

staff. He is the son of longtime NBA coach

Flip Saunders Philip Daniel "Flip" Saunders (February 23, 1955 – October 25, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. During his career, he coached the La Crosse Catbirds, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards. High schoo ...

Early life

Born in

Medina, Minnesota Medina is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. An outer edge suburb of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, the city has a primarily rural character, with agricultural lands and natural preservation areas. Medina is home to the corporate hea ...

, Saunders graduated from

Wayzata High School Wayzata High School is a comprehensive public high school in Plymouth, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The high school, operated by Wayzata Public Schools, had about 3669 students in grades 9 to 12 as of 2021-22, making it Min ...

Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis.The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's ...

in 2004.

College playing career

A walk-on, Saunders played basketball at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

from 2004 to 2008 as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. He played only 20 games in his first two seasons in a backup role. Saunders redshirted the 2006–07 season due to a wrist injury and did not play any games in the 2007–08 season. Saunders graduated from Minnesota in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in sport management.

Coaching career

After he achieved his bachelor's degree and finished playing college basketball, Saunders was a graduate manager under

Tubby Smith Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951) is an American college basketball coach. He was the men's basketball coach at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, the Univers ...

in the 2008–09 season while pursuing a master's degree in applied kinesiology. In 2009, he began coaching in the NBA, becoming an assistant coach for the

. Then, starting in 2014, he was an assistant coach for the

. On January 6, 2019, Saunders was promoted to interim head coach of the Timberwolves after

Tom Thibodeau Thomas Joseph Thibodeau Jr. ( ; born January 17, 1958) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He served as an assistant coach for the United States men's national ...

was fired, also becoming the youngest head coach in the NBA for the 2018–19 season. On January 8, Saunders got his first win in his debut as head coach when the Timberwolves defeated the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

, and became the youngest head coach to win in his debut since 1978. On May 20, the Timberwolves announced that Saunders signed to a multi-year deal to become the team's permanent head coach, removing his "interim" status. At age 33, Saunders became the youngest head coach in the league, despite having over 10 years of NBA experience under his belt. On February 21, 2021, Saunders was fired by the Timberwolves, after leading them to a 7–24 record. In June 2022, The

hired Saunders as an assistant coach under Michael Malone.

Head coaching record

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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Academic career

Ryan Saunders joined University of Northwestern-St. Paul as an adjunct instructor for the Spring 2022 semester where he will teach Sports Leadership in the College of Behavioral & Natural Sciences.

Personal life

When Saunders was born, his father

was an assistant coach at the

. Ryan Saunders grew up in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, as Flip later worked as head coach for CBA teams in those states (specifically, the

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball Ass ...

(1988–1989),

La Crosse Catbirds The La Crosse Catbirds was an American basketball team based in La Crosse, Wisconsin and member of the Continental Basketball Association. The Catbirds were the 1990 and 1992 CBA champions. The team moved to La Crosse from Louisville in 1985, an ...

(1989–1994), and

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

(1994–1995)). In 1995, the Saunders family returned to the

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...

area when Flip Saunders became head coach of the

, a position he would maintain for the rest of Ryan's childhood. Saunders married his wife Hayley in 2017, and they had a son in 2019. Saunders has taken part in multiple basketball camps for the youth and charitable organizations in Minnesota.Wizards Assistant Coaches
/ref>

References

External links

Minnesota bio
from 2007 to 2008 media guide, p. 64 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Ryan 1986 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Minnesota Basketball players from Minnesota Guards (basketball) Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches Minnesota Timberwolves head coaches People from Wayzata, Minnesota Sportspeople from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area Washington Wizards assistant coaches