Athletes - Chris Andersen

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	Athletes - Chris Andersen

Chris Andersen (born July 7 1978 in Long Beach, California) is a former NBA basketball player. His swooping dunks, shot-blocking skills and rare athleticism for his size earned him the nickname "The Birdman". Andersen is also the owner of a number of large tattoos, mainly on his arms. He was banished from the league in 2006 for violating the league's drug policy.

Andersen grew up in Iola, Texas and was undrafted following a career at Blinn College (he originally dropped out of the University of Houston). He began his professional career in the NBDL, going on to play for the Denver Nuggets and the New Orleans Hornets.

The 6'10", 220lb Andersen showcased his athleticism in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Weekend in 2004 and 2005. Infamously, in the 2005 contest, he missed his first eight attempts on his first dunk and his first five attempts on his second, drawing open laughter from the players on the sidelines and even ridicule from the TNT commentators. Bill Simmons of ESPN wrote, "A Pantheon performance on the Unintentional Comedy Scale by Chris Andersen....Looking back, I think the best part was that he started off the contest by telling the sideline reporter, 'It's time for the Birdman to fly.' Could somebody find me a time machine so I could travel back to the '80s and make that my high school yearbook quote?"

In 253 career games (including 8 starts), Andersen averaged 5.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 16.6 minutes per game. His recent trademark had been his "Birdman" celebration, wherein he would cross his arms and flap his hands like the wings of a bird. This was usually done after scoring on an emphatic dunk.

On January 25, 2006, Andersen was disqualified from the NBA for violating the league's anti-drug policy by testing positive for illegal drugs. He is unable to apply for reinstatement without waiting the NBA league minimum of 2 years. Andersen attempted to appeal the ruling through arbitration, but the arbitrator ruled to uphold his dismissal on March 20, 2006. A Denver Post journalist called him "the most disgraced NBA player since the drug-induced haze of the '80s". His suspension drew more jokes about the infamous dunk contest from fans and media, including Bill Simmons.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Chris Andersen ]

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Athletes - Chris Andersen

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