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Ryan Saunders

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Ryan Saunders
Full length view of man leaning forward, standing on side lines, wearing white shirt, dark tie and suit, scorers or announcers visible behind him
Saunders in 2019
Denver Nuggets
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1986-04-28) April 28, 1986 (age 38)
Medina, Minnesota, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Career information
High schoolWayzata (Plymouth, Minnesota)
CollegeMinnesota (2004–2008)
Coaching career2009–present
Career history
As coach:
2009–2014Washington Wizards (assistant)
2014–2019Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant)
2019Minnesota Timberwolves (interim)
2019–2021Minnesota Timberwolves
2022–presentDenver Nuggets (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As assistant coach:

Ryan Philip Saunders (born April 28, 1986)[1] is an American basketball assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known for his work as a head coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves and in player development with the Washington Wizards staff. He is the son of longtime NBA coach Flip Saunders.[2]

Early life

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Born in Medina, Minnesota, Saunders graduated from Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minnesota in 2004.[3]

College playing career

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A walk-on, Saunders played basketball at the University of Minnesota from 2004 to 2008 as a guard. He played only 20 games in his first two seasons in a backup role.[4] Saunders redshirted the 2006–07 season due to a wrist injury and did not play any games in the 2007–08 season.[4] Saunders graduated from Minnesota in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in sport management.[5]

Coaching career

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Waist high view of young man with short dark hair turning to one side wearing a blue shirt, dark blue suit and striped tie, two women visible behind him
Saunders in 2009 as the University of Minnesota graduate manager

After he achieved his bachelor's degree and finished playing college basketball, Saunders was a graduate manager under Tubby Smith in the 2008–09 season while pursuing a master's degree in applied kinesiology.[6][5]

In 2009, he began coaching in the NBA, becoming an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards. Then, starting in 2014, he was an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves.[7] On January 6, 2019, Saunders was promoted to interim head coach of the Timberwolves after Tom Thibodeau was fired,[8] also becoming the youngest head coach in the NBA for the 2018–19 season.[9] On January 8, Saunders got his first win in his debut as head coach when the Timberwolves defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder,[10] and became the youngest head coach to win in his debut since 1978.[11] On May 20, the Timberwolves announced that Saunders signed to a multi-year deal to become the team's permanent head coach, removing his "interim" status.[12] At age 33, Saunders became the youngest head coach in the league, despite having over 10 years of NBA experience under his belt.[13] On February 21, 2021, Saunders was fired by the Timberwolves, after leading them to a 7–24 record.[14][15] In June 2022, the Denver Nuggets hired Saunders as an assistant coach under Michael Malone.[16] Saunders won an NBA championship in 2023 when the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

Head coaching record

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Minnesota 2018–19 42 17 25 .405 5th in Northwest — — — — Missed playoffs
Minnesota 2019–20 64 19 45 .297 5th in Northwest — — — — Missed playoffs
Minnesota 2020–21 31 7 24 .226 (fired) — — — — —
Career 137 43 94 .314   — — — —  

Academic career

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Ryan Saunders joined University of Northwestern-St. Paul as an adjunct instructor for the Spring 2022 semester where he taught Sports Leadership in the College of Behavioral & Natural Sciences.[17]

Personal life

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When Saunders was born, his father Flip Saunders was an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota.[18] Ryan Saunders grew up in Wisconsin and South Dakota, as Flip later worked as head coach for CBA teams in those states (specifically, the Rapid City Thrillers (1988–1989), La Crosse Catbirds (1989–1994), and Sioux Falls Skyforce (1994–1995)). In 1995, the Saunders family returned to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area when Flip Saunders became head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, a position he would maintain for the rest of Ryan's childhood.[19]

Saunders married his wife Hayley in 2017, and they had a son in 2019.[20] Saunders is a Christian.[21]

Saunders has taken part in multiple basketball camps for the youth and charitable organizations in Minnesota.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Ryan Saunders" (PDF). Minnesota Basketball 2007-08. University of Minnesota. p. 64.
  2. ^ Jackson, Brian (August 2, 2013). "Ryan Saunders staying in Washington". CSN Washington. Archived from the original on August 4, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  3. ^ "Athletics". Archived from the original on March 18, 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2006.
  4. ^ a b "Ryan Saunders College Stats".
  5. ^ a b "Ryan Saunders". NBA. 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  6. ^ "Black Friday 2021 - Save on Single Game Tickets! - Official Athletics Website". Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
  7. ^ "Wolves Name Ryan Saunders Assistant Coach". NBA.com. July 1, 2014.
  8. ^ "Timberwolves Relieve Tom Thibodeau of his Duties". NBA.com. January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  9. ^ Ratke, Kyle (January 7, 2019). "Get To Know Timberwolves Interim Head Coach Ryan Saunders". NBA.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  10. ^ Ratke, Kyle (January 8, 2019). "Saunders Leads Wolves To Emotional Win In Debut". NBA.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  11. ^ Mathur, Ashish (January 8, 2019). "Ryan Saunders becomes youngest coach in NBA history to win his coaching debut since 1978". ClutchPoints. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  12. ^ "Minnesota Timberwolves Name Ryan Saunders Head Coach". NBA.com. May 20, 2019. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  13. ^ Blackburn, Pete (May 20, 2019). "Minnesota Timberwolves make Ryan Saunders, 33, the NBA's youngest head coach". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  14. ^ "Timberwolves Relieve Ryan Saunders of his Duties". NBA.com. February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Maloney, Jack (February 21, 2021). "Timberwolves name Chris Finch new head coach as former Raptors assistant replaces Ryan Saunders". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  16. ^ "Nuggets Expected To Hire Ryan Saunders As Assistant Coach". hoopsrumors.com. June 12, 2022.
  17. ^ "Former Minnesota Timberwolves Head Coach Ryan Saunders to Join Northwestern-St. Paul as Adjunct Faculty". unwsp.edu. November 8, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  18. ^ "Wizards Assistant Coaches". NBA.com. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  19. ^ "NBA.com: Flip Saunders Coach Info". www.nba.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2001.
  20. ^ FOX (June 6, 2019). "Timberwolves head coach Ryan Saunders, wife welcome baby boy". KMSP. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  21. ^ Mercer, Kevin. "Assistant coach Ryan Saunders leans on Christ as he helps Nuggets in NBA playoffs". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  22. ^ Wizards Assistant Coaches
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