Ryan Anderson of New Orleans Hornets Says He's 'Blessed'

By Christine Thomasos, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Ryan Anderson may be known by NBA fans for his two-year stint as an Orlando Magic forward, but after being acquired by the New Orleans Hornets in a multi-million dollar contract the athlete is giving God the glory.

Anderson, 24, was offered a $36 million four-year contract by the Hornets last summer and recently spoke to HOOPSWORLD about how blessed he is to receive such an opportunity. The forward said he has been blessed with a position to help his teammates.

"God has really blessed me in this circumstance. I can really share that with my teammates: guys that might be struggling with playing time or struggling with performance," Anderson said. "For me, I've experienced it all: I've experienced not playing, coming off the bench, being a starter. It always comes around in the NBA."

The Christian athlete said he hopes to be a leader for a New Orleans team that is filled with youth.

"It's a long season, and you just have to be prepared," Anderson explained to HOOPSWORLD. "That's kind of a lesson I can really teach from my example, so it's pretty cool. I can be a leader in that way. "

However, the NBA player admitted that his basketball career has not come easy for him.

"For me I've always kind of been the underdog, an underdog guy. I've never really put too much on myself because I've always just felt blessed to do the next step," Anderson told the publication. "Blessed to get a college degree and play college basketball. Blessed to get drafted, and once that came, it was like, 'I made it to the NBA!' It's never like 'I deserve this.'"

Now that Anderson is a veteran on his team after four years, he is giving God the glory for providing him with the opportunities he has been given.

"So I just feel really blessed, and God has opened a lot of great doors for me, and put me in the right positions and the right situations," Anderson said. "It's crazy to blink and see myself here now and with this role, and being a young veteran on this team. It's fun; it's a trip."