Kenny Anderson
Encyclopedia
Kenneth "Kenny" Anderson (born October 9, 1970) is a retired American
basketball
player. After a college career at Georgia Institute of Technology
, he played point guard
professionally from 1991 to 2006, mostly in the National Basketball Association
.
, New York
. As a 16-year-old high school sophomore, the LeFrak City, Queens
native who attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School
in Briarwood
, was considered one of the best basketball prospects in America. Collegiate recruiters began scouting Anderson in sixth-grade and he was on the front page of the New York City sports section when he was 14. By the end of his high school career, he was a three-time Parade All-American, a feat not accomplished since Lew Alcindor
and the first player to be named All-City four times. In addition, he was a McDonald's All-American, Gatorade's high school player of the year and Player of the Year by the New York State Sportswriters Association
, and was named New York State Mr. Basketball
by the New York State Coaches Organization. He was also named Parade, Naismith, and USA Today player of the year. Despite his coach, Jack Curran
, benching him for the first quarter of all of his games during his freshman year at Molloy, Anderson set the all-time state record for scoring in New York, with 2,621 points. This record stood until 2004, when Lincoln High School guard Sebastian Telfair
eclipsed the mark late in his senior season.
, selecting the Yellow Jackets over North Carolina
, Duke
and Syracuse
.
Anderson quickly became the team's starting point guard and played two years for Georgia Tech, helping lead the team to the Final Four in 1990 along with swingmen Dennis Scott
and Brian Oliver
, who were nicknamed "Lethal Weapon 3." It was Anderson's shot at the end of regulation during Round 16 that forced overtime versus favored Michigan State
, with the Yellow Jackets pulling away. Georgia Tech's tournament run ended versus eventual champion UNLV in the Final Four.
With Scott and Oliver gone after that season, Anderson averaged nearly 26 points a game and Georgia Tech secured a #8 seed for the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the second round to Ohio State
. Soon after, Anderson announced that he would forgo his last two years of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft
.
He played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA World Championship
, winning the bronze medal.
with the second pick in the 1991 NBA Draft
. He was the youngest player in the league at that time. He averaged seven points, two rebounds
and 3.2 assists
per game. In Anderson's second season he nearly doubled his point, rebound and assist averages. In his third season, he averaged 18.8 ppg and 9.6 apg. Anderson and his Nets' teammate, Derrick Coleman
, both represented the East squad in the 1994 NBA All-Star Game. He was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in 1996.
Throughout his career Anderson has played for the Hornets (including both Charlotte and New Orleans franchises), Portland Trail Blazers
, Boston Celtics
, Seattle SuperSonics
and the Indiana Pacers
, and split a season for the Atlanta Hawks
and Los Angeles Clippers
.
In 1998, Portland traded Anderson to the Toronto Raptors
for Damon Stoudamire
, but he refused to report to the team because he did not want to play in Canada
. Without playing a single game for them, Anderson forced the Raptors' hand and they traded him to the Celtics for Chauncey Billups
.
Anderson was released from Lithuania
's Zalgiris Kaunas
after the 2005–06 season.
.
Anderson has been married three times and has seven children with five different women. His children are daughters Danielle, Christenese (“Christy”), Lyric, and Jazz, and sons Kenneth, Devin, and Kenneth Jr. He also has a stepdaughter, Tiana. His daughter Christenese is from a previous relationship with Deidra Roper, better known as DJ Spinderella
of Salt-N-Pepa
. His daughters Lyric and Jazz are from his first marriage with Tami Akbar (now Tami Roman). Akbar was a cast member on The Real World: Los Angeles
(the second season), and is currently on VH1's Basketball Wives
. He and Akbar were married from 1994 to 2001., Akbar filed for divorce in Christmas 1998 citing Anderson's infidelity. She successfully challenged the 1995 $5.8 million pre-nup. As a result of the divorce Tami acquired a sizeable portion of his assets (reported to be half) in addition to $8500 monthly child support. Tami had a license plate custom-made to mark her victory with the phrase "HISCASH"." His older son Kenneth and his son Devin are from a ten-year extramarital relationship with Suany Castro. His younger son Kenneth Jr. is from his second marriage was to Tamiyka Lockhart. He and Lockhart were briefly married and divorced in 2002. Anderson met his current wife, Natasha, in 2004 and they married in July of 2007. His stepdaughter, Tiana, is Natasha’s daughter. Natasha is a Clinical social worker at a psychiatric hospital
in Miami.
's Atlanta Krunk. The team was owned by Freedom Williams
of C+C Music Factory
.
In 2008, Anderson made a TV appearance on Pros vs Joes
.
In September 2008, he was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame along with NBA stars Sam Perkins
and Rod Strickland
, coach Pete Gillen
and pioneers Lou Bender
and Eddie Younger.
Anderson graduated in 2010 from St. Thomas University
in Miami, with a degree in organizational leadership, after having completed online courses.
In August of 2011, Anderson took the position of basketball coach at the David Posnack Hebrew Day School in Davie, Florida.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. After a college career at Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, he played point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
professionally from 1991 to 2006, mostly in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
.
Early life
Anderson was born in QueensQueens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. As a 16-year-old high school sophomore, the LeFrak City, Queens
LeFrak City, Queens
LeFrak City is a very large apartment development in the southernmost region of Corona, a neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, located between Junction Boulevard, 57th Avenue, 99th Street and the Long Island Expressway...
native who attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School
Archbishop Molloy High School
Archbishop Molloy High School is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9-12, located on in the Briarwood section of Queens in New York City, thirty minutes east of Manhattan. Molloy currently has an endowment of about $6,000,000 . The school's current principal is Br...
in Briarwood
Briarwood, Queens
Briarwood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located northwest of Jamaica and roughly bounded by Queens Boulevard, Parsons Boulevard, Union Turnpike, and Hillside Avenue. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 8. It is serviced by the IND Queens Boulevard...
, was considered one of the best basketball prospects in America. Collegiate recruiters began scouting Anderson in sixth-grade and he was on the front page of the New York City sports section when he was 14. By the end of his high school career, he was a three-time Parade All-American, a feat not accomplished since Lew Alcindor
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
and the first player to be named All-City four times. In addition, he was a McDonald's All-American, Gatorade's high school player of the year and Player of the Year by the New York State Sportswriters Association
New York State Sportswriters Association
The New York State Sportswriters Association , founded in 1967, is a source of reference information and statistics about scholastic athletics in the state...
, and was named New York State Mr. Basketball
New York Mr. Basketball Award
The Mr. New York Basketball award is presented annually to a high school senior by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York, which includes scholastic and collegiate coaches from across the state.-Award winners:-Awards by school:...
by the New York State Coaches Organization. He was also named Parade, Naismith, and USA Today player of the year. Despite his coach, Jack Curran
Jack Curran
Jack Curran is an American baseball and basketball coach. Curran is the head coach at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York. Curran has won more basketball and baseball games than any high school coach in the United States....
, benching him for the first quarter of all of his games during his freshman year at Molloy, Anderson set the all-time state record for scoring in New York, with 2,621 points. This record stood until 2004, when Lincoln High School guard Sebastian Telfair
Sebastian Telfair
Sebastian Telfair is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Telfair was the 13th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers out of Abraham Lincoln High School...
eclipsed the mark late in his senior season.
Georgia Tech
After a long recruiting process, Anderson signed a letter of intent in November 1988 to play at Georgia TechGeorgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, selecting the Yellow Jackets over North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and Syracuse
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
.
Anderson quickly became the team's starting point guard and played two years for Georgia Tech, helping lead the team to the Final Four in 1990 along with swingmen Dennis Scott
Dennis Scott (basketball)
Dennis Eugene Scott is an American former professional basketball player. A 6' 8" small forward from Georgia Tech, and the 1989–1990 ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, Scott was selected by the Orlando Magic with the fourth pick of the 1990 NBA Draft after being the leading scorer on a...
and Brian Oliver
Brian Oliver
Brian Darnell Oliver is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'4" and 210 lb shooting guard out of Georgia Tech, he was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA in the 2nd round of the 1990 Draft...
, who were nicknamed "Lethal Weapon 3." It was Anderson's shot at the end of regulation during Round 16 that forced overtime versus favored Michigan State
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, with the Yellow Jackets pulling away. Georgia Tech's tournament run ended versus eventual champion UNLV in the Final Four.
With Scott and Oliver gone after that season, Anderson averaged nearly 26 points a game and Georgia Tech secured a #8 seed for the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the second round to Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. Soon after, Anderson announced that he would forgo his last two years of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft
NBA Draft
The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted...
.
He played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA World Championship
1990 FIBA World Championship
The 1990 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Argentina from August 8 to August 20, 1990.The competition final phase was held at the Luna Park, Buenos Aires.Yugoslavia emerged as the tournament winner...
, winning the bronze medal.
NBA
Anderson was selected by the New Jersey NetsNew Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
with the second pick in the 1991 NBA Draft
1991 NBA Draft
The 1991 NBA Draft took place on June 26, 1991 in New York City, New York. Dikembe Mutombo is regarded as the best overall pick in this draft, becoming one of the greatest defensive centers in the history of the league. He was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner and an eight...
. He was the youngest player in the league at that time. He averaged seven points, two rebounds
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
and 3.2 assists
Assist (basketball)
In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by field goal, meaning that he or she was "assisting" in the basket. There is some judgment involved in deciding whether a passer should be credited with an assist...
per game. In Anderson's second season he nearly doubled his point, rebound and assist averages. In his third season, he averaged 18.8 ppg and 9.6 apg. Anderson and his Nets' teammate, Derrick Coleman
Derrick Coleman
Derrick D. Coleman is a retired American basketball player in the NBA. Coleman grew up and attended high school in Detroit, Michigan and attended college at Syracuse University...
, both represented the East squad in the 1994 NBA All-Star Game. He was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in 1996.
Throughout his career Anderson has played for the Hornets (including both Charlotte and New Orleans franchises), Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
, Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
, Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
and the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
, and split a season for the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
and Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
.
In 1998, Portland traded Anderson to the Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
for Damon Stoudamire
Damon Stoudamire
Damon Lamon Stoudamire is a retired American professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team. The , point guard was selected with the 7th overall pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 NBA Draft and won the 1995–96 NBA Rookie of the...
, but he refused to report to the team because he did not want to play in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Without playing a single game for them, Anderson forced the Raptors' hand and they traded him to the Celtics for Chauncey Billups
Chauncey Billups
Chauncey Ray Billups is an American professional basketball point guard for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association . He has also played for Team USA. Billups won the NBA Finals MVP in 2004, helping the Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals, and was given the...
.
Anderson was released from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
's Zalgiris Kaunas
BC Žalgiris
BC Žalgiris is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is one of the oldest teams in the Euroleague and plays domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga , and regionally in the VTB United League...
after the 2005–06 season.
Personal life
Anderson is the son of Joan, and has two sisters, Sandra and Danielle . He did not meet his father until he was in his thirties. In October 2005, his mother Joan died from a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Anderson has been married three times and has seven children with five different women. His children are daughters Danielle, Christenese (“Christy”), Lyric, and Jazz, and sons Kenneth, Devin, and Kenneth Jr. He also has a stepdaughter, Tiana. His daughter Christenese is from a previous relationship with Deidra Roper, better known as DJ Spinderella
DJ Spinderella
Deidra Muriel Roper , known as DJ Spinderella, is an American DJ and rapper who was a member of the hip-hop group, Salt-N-Pepa. Her name is a reference to the classic fairy tale Cinderella.- Career :...
of Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....
. His daughters Lyric and Jazz are from his first marriage with Tami Akbar (now Tami Roman). Akbar was a cast member on The Real World: Los Angeles
The Real World: Los Angeles
The Real World: California is the second season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of several diverse strangers living together for several months, as the cameras follow their lives and interpersonal...
(the second season), and is currently on VH1's Basketball Wives
Basketball Wives
Basketball Wives is a reality television series that premiered on the VH1 cable television network on April 11, 2010. Created by production company Shed Media US, the series follows the lives of a group of women who have all been somehow romantically linked to professional basketball players. The...
. He and Akbar were married from 1994 to 2001., Akbar filed for divorce in Christmas 1998 citing Anderson's infidelity. She successfully challenged the 1995 $5.8 million pre-nup. As a result of the divorce Tami acquired a sizeable portion of his assets (reported to be half) in addition to $8500 monthly child support. Tami had a license plate custom-made to mark her victory with the phrase "HISCASH"." His older son Kenneth and his son Devin are from a ten-year extramarital relationship with Suany Castro. His younger son Kenneth Jr. is from his second marriage was to Tamiyka Lockhart. He and Lockhart were briefly married and divorced in 2002. Anderson met his current wife, Natasha, in 2004 and they married in July of 2007. His stepdaughter, Tiana, is Natasha’s daughter. Natasha is a Clinical social worker at a psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
in Miami.
After the NBA
In 2007, Anderson was named as the new coach of the CBAContinental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
's Atlanta Krunk. The team was owned by Freedom Williams
Freedom Williams
Frederick Brandon Williams , better known by his stage name Freedom Williams is an American hip hop and dance music performer, who gained fame as the lead vocalist on C+C Music Factory's biggest hits.-Career:...
of C+C Music Factory
C+C Music Factory
C+C Music Factory is a dance-pop and hip hop group formed in 1989 by David Cole and Robert Clivillés which stopped recording 1996, following Cole's death...
.
In 2008, Anderson made a TV appearance on Pros vs Joes
Pros vs Joes
Pros vs. Joes is an American physical reality game show that airs on Spike TV. The show features male amateur contestants matching themselves against professional athletes in a series of athletic feats related to the expertise sport of the Pro they are facing...
.
In September 2008, he was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame along with NBA stars Sam Perkins
Sam Perkins
Samuel Perkins is a retired American professional basketball player, also known by the nicknames "Sleepy Sam" and "Big Smooth." He attended Samuel J. Tilden High School, Shaker High School and the University of North Carolina, where he was a teammate of Michael Jordan...
and Rod Strickland
Rod Strickland
Rodney "Rod" Strickland is a retired American professional basketball player and currently in an administrative role for the University of Kentucky basketball team under head coach John Calipari. Strickland was formerly the director of basketball operations at the University of Memphis...
, coach Pete Gillen
Pete Gillen
Pete Gillen is an American former college basketball head coach of the Division I Xavier Musketeers, Providence Friars and Virginia Cavaliers and is a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame...
and pioneers Lou Bender
Lou Bender
Louis "Lulu" Bender was an American basketball player who helped turn the sport into a popular success in New York City during the Great Depression and helped make Madison Square Garden a destination for the sport. Bender was a three-time All-Ivy League and two-time All-America in the early 1930s...
and Eddie Younger.
Anderson graduated in 2010 from St. Thomas University
St. Thomas University (Florida)
St. Thomas University is a private Roman Catholic university in the Miami, Florida, United States suburb of Miami Gardens.-History:The University traces its roots to the Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva, founded in 1946 in Havana, Cuba, named after Saint Thomas of Villanova, by...
in Miami, with a degree in organizational leadership, after having completed online courses.
In August of 2011, Anderson took the position of basketball coach at the David Posnack Hebrew Day School in Davie, Florida.