Chris Anstey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Chris Anstey
Position Centre
Height 213 cm (7 ft 0 in)
Weight 115 kg (253 lb)
Nationality  Australia
Born 1 January 1975 (1975-01-01) (age 37)
Melbourne, Victoria
Junior Association Melbourne
Debut 1994
Final Game 2010
Previous Clubs Melbourne Tigers 1994
South East Melbourne Magic 1995-1997
Dallas Mavericks 1997-1999
Chicago Bulls 1999-2000
Victoria Titans 2001-2002
Ural Great 2002–03
UNICS Kazan 2003–05
Melbourne Tigers (2006-2010)
Championships 1996, 2006, 2008
Career Highlights 1996 NBL Most Improved Player
1997 FIBA U/22's World Champions Team MVP
2001 NBL Best Sixth Man
2002 Australian International Player of the Year
2003 ULEB Cup MVP
2006, 2008 NBL MVP
2006 NBL Grand Final MVP
2009 Victoria State of Origin Team

Christopher John "Chris" Anstey (born 1 January 1975 in Melbourne) is a former Australian professional basketball player. At 7'0" (213 cm) his career included stints in the NBA, Russia and Spain. Anstey was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round (18th pick overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft. He played for the Melbourne Tigers in the Australian NBL. He retired at the end of the 2009/2010 season.

Contents

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Early NBL Years

Anstey took up basketball at the relatively late age of 17, Before that he was a promising tennis player, peaking at being ranked number 2 amongst Australia's 15 year old players. In 1994 he joined the Melbourne Tigers and was teammates with some of the most recognizable names in Australian basketball, such as Andrew Gaze, Lindsay Gaze, Lanard Copeland and Stephen Hoare. Anstey played for the South East Melbourne Magic from 1995–1997, earning Most Improved Player in 1996, before going to the NBA.

[edit] NBA

Anstey was the 18th overall selection of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. His draft rights were traded by the Blazers with cash to the Dallas Mavericks for the draft rights to Kelvin Cato in June 1997. His rookie year, 1997–98, he averaged 5.9 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 16.6 MPG. The next year, his numbers dropped to 3.3 PPG and 2.4 RPG. He was traded by the Mavericks to the Chicago Bulls for a second round draft pick in 2000 in September 1999. He averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.8 RPG on 44.2 FG% in his last NBA season with the Bulls. Anstey owns career NBA averages of 5.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 0.4 BPG in 155 games with 23 starts.[1]

[edit] Europe and return to NBL

Anstey returned to the NBL with the Victoria Titans in 2001-2002, winning Best Sixth Man. In 2003, Anstey led Russian club Ural Great Perm to runners up in the Russian Championship, winning the ULEB Cup MVP. In 2004, Anstey signed with UNICS Kazan, and had an All-Star season, leading the team to a EuroChallenge Championship. Anstey was a Euroleague All-Star again in 2005. Anstey returned to his native Australia with his original team, the Melbourne Tigers, in 2006. After returning, Anstey enjoyed plenty of success, leading the NBL in blocks in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009; and in rebounding in 2008 and 2009; earning the MVP in 2006 and 2008; Grand Finals MVP in 2006 and Best Defensive Player in 2008. He retired in 2010 after scoring 13 points in his final game.[2]

[edit] The "finger" controversy

Following his side's 115-112 overtime win over the Brisbane Bullets at the Brisbane Convention Centre in Game 2 of the Semi Finals on 28 February 2008, he was fined A$2000 for giving Bullets fans Josh Hanson and Scott Buchbach the "finger". He even accused them of being "sore losers" after he was given a verbal lashing by the two during the game.[3][4] Six nights later, coach Al Westover was hit with a A$2000 fine for the same thing to the Sydney Kings fans following their 95-74 loss in Game 1 of the 5-match Grand Final Series.

[edit] Career highlights

  • 1995 - 97 South East Melbourne Magic.
    • NBL Semi-finals (1995).
    • NBL Championship, Most Improved Player. (1996).
    • NBL Championship runners up (1997).
  • 1997
    • Australian National (under 22) team.
      • Won world championships.
      • Named tournament MVP.
    • Selected 18th in the NBA draft.
  • 2002
    • NBL All Star Five
    • Australian International Player of the Year
  • 2005
    • UNICS Kazan.
      • FIBA EuropeLeague All Star
  • 2006
    • Melbourne Tigers
      • NBL Pre-season MVP
      • NBL Regular Season MVP
      • NBL Champions
      • NBL Grand Final Series MVP
  • 2008
    • Melbourne Tigers
      • NBL Regular Season MVP
      • NBL Champions
      • NBL Best Defensive Player
      • 1st place NBL rankings for defensive & total rebounds, and blocks

On 13 September 2000, Anstey was awarded the Australian Sports Medal.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ http://www.nbl.com.au/index.php?id=434&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=15361&tx_ttnews[backPid]=217&cHash=60c5982ab7
  3. ^ Heming, Wayne (2008-02-29). "Anstey fined for flipping the bird". www.foxsports.com.au. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23294426-23769,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-09. 
  4. ^ Unknown (2008-02-29). "Chris Anstey has been fined $2000 for one-finger gesture". news.com.au. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23295643-10914,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-09. [dead link]
  5. ^ "Chris Anstey". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=976610&search_type=advanced&showInd=true. Retrieved 1 January 2012. 

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Tonny Jensen		 NBL Most Improved Player
1996		 Succeeded by
Ben Pepper
Preceded by
Ben Knight		 NBL Best Sixth Man
2001		 Succeeded by
Jamahl Mosley
Preceded by
Sam Mackinnon		 NBL Best Defensive Player
2008		 Succeeded by
Adam Gibson
First round
Second round
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chris_Anstey&oldid=469573333"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages