NBLC Alumni: Ryan Anderson
6'4
Guard
From Seattle, Washington
đ Tenure: 2013-2020
3x NBLC Champion
2x All-NBLC Team
2017 Finals MVP
It is hard to imagine the NBL Canada without Ryan Anderson; the creative, versatile sharp shooter was for years one of the league's most decorated and popular players, while also being one of the biggest scoring threats on the court.
Part of Washington state's number one high school team, Ranier Beach, Anderson enjoyed a successful four years in the NCAA Division 1 with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. A regular starter for the team, in his final year he started all 32 games and averaged 11.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and shot 43% from three-point territory.
Turning professional, Anderson played in Germany and the Netherlands before being selected 92nd overall by the Texas Legends in the 2011 NBA D-League Draft, later playing eleven times for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He first came to the NBL Canada in 2013, signing with the Ottawa Skyhawks. In his first NBLC regular season he reached double digits on all but two occasions and recorded thirteen double-doubles, ending the year with averages of 18.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
From there Anderson joined the Windsor Express; averaging 13.1 points per game he was one of the team's best offensive players in the playoffs, en route to winning his and Windsor's fist NBLC championship. In 2015 Anderson made the move to the London Lightning. Starting as a rotation player, he soon earned a much larger role, starting in all 52 games the following year and was instrumental in the Lightning capturing their record third NBLC Title.
His season highlight came on February 26th 2017 where, against the Cape Breton Highlanders, he poured in a career-high 45 points, including a league record 13 threes. At the season's end, after averaging 16 points in the six finals games, he was also named 2017 Finals MVP.
In 2017-18 he registered twelve double-doubles for the Lightning, including two thirty point games, his part in the team repeating their championship success, London's fourth and Anderson's third. For the 2018-19 NBLC, Anderson returned to Windsor, where he had his best season in an Express uniform. Opening with 30 points and 10 boards against the Sudbury Five, he went on to score double digits in all but five games and made ten double-doubles, averaging 16.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists per game at the season's end.
Following this Anderson played for the Niagara River Lions in the CEBL, but come the winter of 2019 had what would be his last NBL Canada stint. Once again playing for Windsor, he played seventeen games in which he averaged 9.7 points and 5.3 rebounds before the outside world brought the season to an abrupt end.
With it the end of one of the great NBL Canada careers; the talented and celebrated guard leaving behind a lasting legacy of success that in 2022 saw him named to the league's tenth anniversary team.
