Birdman: A man on a mission
The Nuggets are about to close the door on the 2008-2009 regular season. The biggest story this year was the trade the brought Chauncey Billups and sent Allen Iverson to the Pistons. Although this was the biggest story, the most important story was the comeback of Chris "Birdman" Anderson. Birdman is one of the most exciting players in the NBA. He only plays about twenty minutes per game, but somehow he's second in blocked shots in the NBA. Not bad for a guy that was out of the NBA for two years...
Chris Anderson has one of the most amazing stories I've ever heard. He was born in a small town in Texas. He played junior college basketball at Blinn College, played professionally in China (against a young Yao Ming) and was the first pick in the NBA Developmental League draft. Then the Denver Nuggets signed him to an NBA contract before he really played in the D league. Chris Anderson was realizing his dream of playing basketball in the NBA.
Birdman played a few seasons for the Nuggets, then moved on to the New Orleans Hornets. The move to the Hornets brought more money and more problems. Anderson was going through personal problems off the court and they led to him failing drug tests and being suspended from the league for two seasons. This is where Birdman's story gets really interesting.
Chris could have given up on playing again in the NBA, two years is a long time to be out of the league. Instead of giving up, Chris got with the right people back in his hometown. He went to rehab to fight his drug and alcohol addictions. He did everything he could do to improve himself as a person. Two years of hard work and patience have paid off big time for Chris Anderson and the Denver Nuggets. Birdman is back and he's on a mission. A mission to be one of the best defensive players and to win an NBA Championship.
Last week I watched the Altitude One on One interview with Scott Hastings and Chris Anderson. That was when I first got to see the real Chris Anderson. The interview was great and it allowed fans to get inside the head and heart of one of their favorite players. Check out this link to see air times for this interview, it's definitely worth watching. http://www.altitude.tv/WhatsOn/ProgramSearch.aspx?texttosearch=one%20on%20one
Jeremy Fleming
DenverSportsBlog.com
Chris Anderson has one of the most amazing stories I've ever heard. He was born in a small town in Texas. He played junior college basketball at Blinn College, played professionally in China (against a young Yao Ming) and was the first pick in the NBA Developmental League draft. Then the Denver Nuggets signed him to an NBA contract before he really played in the D league. Chris Anderson was realizing his dream of playing basketball in the NBA.
Birdman played a few seasons for the Nuggets, then moved on to the New Orleans Hornets. The move to the Hornets brought more money and more problems. Anderson was going through personal problems off the court and they led to him failing drug tests and being suspended from the league for two seasons. This is where Birdman's story gets really interesting.
Chris could have given up on playing again in the NBA, two years is a long time to be out of the league. Instead of giving up, Chris got with the right people back in his hometown. He went to rehab to fight his drug and alcohol addictions. He did everything he could do to improve himself as a person. Two years of hard work and patience have paid off big time for Chris Anderson and the Denver Nuggets. Birdman is back and he's on a mission. A mission to be one of the best defensive players and to win an NBA Championship.
Last week I watched the Altitude One on One interview with Scott Hastings and Chris Anderson. That was when I first got to see the real Chris Anderson. The interview was great and it allowed fans to get inside the head and heart of one of their favorite players. Check out this link to see air times for this interview, it's definitely worth watching. http://www.altitude.tv/WhatsOn/ProgramSearch.aspx?texttosearch=one%20on%20one
Jeremy Fleming
DenverSportsBlog.com
Posted by Jeremy Fleming at Sunday, April 12, 2009 10:54 AM 
Categories: Denver Nuggets
Tags: Chris Anderson Scott Hastings
Categories: Denver Nuggets
Tags: Chris Anderson Scott Hastings
The bird is the word! I liked him during the first stop in Denver and again in his second stop. I hope we can pay him enough money to keep him around, because he really helps the team out. I meet him before and he seemed like a pretty chill guy.
Go Nuggets, Win a playoff series.. FINALLY!!
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I don't know if the Nuggets will have to pay him a lot of money. Birdmas was suspended for 2 seasons, I'm pretty sure another offense would be his last in the NBA. They need to give him a long-term contract with many incentives that he can reach through his performance. This way he can make good money and have the potential to make really good money. The Nuggets would be covered if for some reason Birdman got in trouble again...I don't think he would, just in case though.
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The "Bird"! I love the Birdman, he exemplifies great qualities as a teammate and player.
If you haven’t noticed a difference in the Denver Nuggets this year then you have been living in a hole. The obvious change being at the point guard position with Chauncey. I think Chauncey’s leadership has transformed the Nuggets into a team that plays together understands the importance of defense and feeds off one another’s energy. With all of that said I believe that Chris Anderson has found himself in a win win situation.
Anderson spent his two year suspension in Colorado eager to get back in the league with tons to still prove. Anderson was frequently seen at 24 Hour Fitness and Greenwood Athletic Club playing pick up games and lifting weights. I frequently saw Anderson in the gym playing pick up basketball. The guy was a regular "dude" for awhile. People would recognize him but were not hounding him for autographs. I remember meeting him waiting in line for a drink of water at 24 hour fitness, he introduced himself as the "Bird". He is friendly guy who constantly talked about getting back into the league. The few times I did talk to him he told me he wanted to play in Denver, he loved Denver and the fans. I was working at a night club at the time and I would invite him in all the time, he told me he doesn’t go out that much and he didn’t drink, he had an image to rebuild.
Anderson was really making an effort to make a change. I remember attending a nuggets game a year ago and seeing Anderson in the crowd, he was walking down the aisle and people were yelling "Bird Man". That was probably difficult to be a fan instead of a player sitting in the stands.
When I heard he got signed by the Nuggets I was happy he was back and happy he had started to achieve his main goal, getting back into the league. What he has done after that....well I think we can all agree he has been more than an impact player for the Nuggets, he is a presence in the paint blocking shots and hustling for loose balls. Now that he’s back on top again Ide like to see the Nuggets lock him up for a few years. The Bird and his wacky hair and wacky defense are exciting and I think the Nuggets feed off his energy.
Its good to see people change for the better, sometimes it takes a life changing experience to get things right again. I hope Anderson continues down the right path.....
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How can a professional player become addicted to alcohol and drugs? When does he find the time to be exposed to these substances so much to create an addiction? It's been five years since I work in a Residential drug treatment in Long Beach and I can't find an explanation to these things, I can't seem to understand what drives success people into drugs.
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Oh my god he was born in Texas,well I have heard Andersen has a large number of tattoos, mainly on his arms.i like his famous line "It's time for the Bird man to fly."
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His story is indeed amazing! I am sure he had some really hard times trying to get better but now he is back on track and i think that's all that matters. There are plenty addicts out there who need to hear this story, i have seen too many people giving up without fighting, loosing their hopes and saying the drug is too strong for them to combat... The fact that someone succeeded fighting addiction might determine others to continue their treatment and get cured.
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touching story - - its great how Birdman remains steadfast in pursuing a serious career in basketball through connecting more closely with his community in helping resolve personal problems. This, along with his blocked shots, will certainly build his public rapport. (not to be confused with repore: repore definition)
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Really man...He have to struggle a lot to get back in...being born in texas he has really worked hard but due to some in justice he has been thrown out...this seems very crazy to me...now finally the birdman is back in I hope that we really win the championship...hoping for success in the championship tournament...
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