Chris Andersen
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| Denver Nuggets – No. 11 | |
| Power Forward/Center | |
| Born: July 7, 1978 Long Beach, California |
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| Nationality | American |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Weight | 228 lb (103 kg) |
| League | NBA |
| High school | Iola HS Iola, Texas |
| College | Blinn College |
| Draft | Undrafted, 1999 |
| Pro career | 1999–2006, 2008–present |
| Former teams | Jiangsu Nangang (1999–2000) New Mexico Slam (2000) Fargo-Moorhead Beez (2000–2001) Denver Nuggets (2001–2004;2008-present) New Orleans Hornets (2004–2006;2008) |
| Profile | Info Page |
Chris Andersen (born July 7, 1978 in Long Beach, California), nicknamed Birdman[1] is an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. 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, but was reinstated on March 4, 2008 and re-signed by the Hornets the next day.
Andersen 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.
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[edit] NBA
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (July 2008) |
As of the end of the 2008–09 season, Andersen has appeared in 329 career games, including 9 starts, averaging 5.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 17.3 minutes per game. He is known for his defense and averaged 2.5 blocks per game in the 2008-09 season and finished second in blocks with a total of 175 after Dwight Howard who had 231.
[edit] Slam Dunk Contest
Andersen appeared in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Weekend in 2004 and 2005. In a sideline interview during the 2005 Dunk Contest, he uttered his now famous line, "It's time for the Birdman to fly."[citation needed]
[edit] 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.[2] 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.[3] Andersen attempted to appeal the ruling through arbitration, but the arbitrator ruled to uphold his dismissal in March 2006.[3] He was eligible for reinstatement effective January 25, 2008. [4]
On March 4, 2008, the NBA and NBA Players Association granted Andersen's request to be reinstated as an NBA player.[5] 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.
[edit] Return to Denver
Following the 2007-08 NBA season, Chris Andersen was released from the Hornets to free agency. Andersen agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Nuggets on July 24, 2008[6]. Andersen finished the season second 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 the Nuggets and Andersen 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 next season.
[edit] Personal
- Chris received the nickname "Birdman" by former NBA player Junior Harrington for his athletic, high-flying game and wing tattoos on his inner biceps. 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.
- Andersen has a large number of tattoos, mainly on his arms.
[edit] 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 |
[edit] 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 |
| Career | 329 | 9 | 17.3 | .484 | .105 | .629 | 5.1 | .6 | .4 | 1.5 | 5.3 |
[edit] 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 |
| Career | 20 | 0 | 18.1 | .587 | .000 | .659 | 5.5 | .6 | .3 | 1.7 | 5.2 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ NBA.com: Chris Andersen Bio Page
- ^ 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
[edit] External links
- Chris Andersen at the Internet Movie Database
- Chris Andersen Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
- Chris Andersen's Career Story – ESPN.com
- Chris Andersen's Birdman Basketball Camp
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