Ryan Christian Anderson (born December 19, 1987) is an American 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 (appro ...

player who last played for the

Niagara River Lions The Niagara River Lions are a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. Catharines, Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. From 2015 to 2018, they were members of the Natio ...

of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL; ) is the premier men's professional basketball league in Canada, as recognized by Canada Basketball. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams all owned and operated by owner ...

(CEBL). He was a four-year standout player for

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, where he earned a degree in sociology with a minor in music technology.

High school career

Anderson attended

Rainier Beach High School Rainier Beach High School is a public secondary school (grades 9-12) in the Seattle Public Schools system. It is located in the Rainier Beach area, in the southeastern part of the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. The school historica ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. When Anderson was a freshman, his team was ranked No. 1 in the state and the country, with the help of Stewart Twins and Nate Robinson, they won the state title. In Anderson's sophomore year, Rainier Beach finished as the state's runners-up and as a junior, he gathered all-conference and all-city accolades. In his final high school season, he averaged 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, leading his team to a fourth-place finish at states with a 23–7 record. Anderson also played

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) basketball for the Friends of Hoop in the summer of 2005 with Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics and Spencer Hawes, averaging 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. The team reached the semifinals of the Nike Peach Jam and, later in the summer, won the title of the Nike Main Event in Vegas. The win gave them a ticket to participate in the Prep Showcase championship, at which Anderson defeated future

NBA MVP The NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Since the 2022–23 season, winners receive the Michael Jor ...

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Durant has won two List of NBA champions, NBA champ ...

to win the Three-Point Contest.

Personal life

Ryan was married to the former Danielle Smith (also known as Rene Christian) on August 8, 2009, in his hometown of Seattle. They are pregnant with a baby boy, due November 2019. He is the son of Carla and Paul Anderson, and has four sisters, Taylor, Erin, Deborah and Kela, and a brother, Austin. Anderson is a musician in his spare time, as he sings, writes, produces and also plays six musical instruments (drums, bass, guitar, sax, piano and keyboards). He has completed work for his first CD, on which he wrote and composed every song. He is also the CEO of his record label VeryTrue records to which he is signed to as an artist and has released his debut album entitled ''Forever''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Ryan 1987 births Living people American men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands Basketball players from Seattle London Lightning players Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players Ottawa SkyHawks players Shooting guards Sioux Falls Skyforce players Windsor Express players ZZ Leiden players Niagara River Lions players Rainier Beach High School alumni