Basketball player Matt Ryan was born on April 17, 1997. He stands six feet eight inches tall. Ryan is a small forward who most recently competed in the NBA Preseason for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He recently completed a season in which he participated in 34 games for the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves during the regular season.
The 26-year-old scored 3.6 points on average per game while making 37.0% of his field goals and 38.1% of his three-point attempts. The Timberwolves will waive Ryan, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium on October 20, 2023.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are waiving wing shooter Matt Ryan and signing Daishen Nix to a two-way NBA contract, per sources. Nix averaged 6 points and 3.3 assists in preseason. Ryan scored 18 points on 6 3‘s over final 2 games.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 20, 2023
Via Charania: “The Minnesota Timberwolves are waiving wing shooter Matt Ryan and signing Daishen Nix to a two-way NBA contract, per sources. Nix averaged 6 points and 3.3 assists in preseason. Ryan scored 18 points on 6 3s over the final 2 games.”
Ryan is not listed as being injured by the Timberwolves, therefore it’s plausible that he has already hit the NBA maximum of 50 active games for two-way players. Ryan ended the 2022–23 season with averages of 3.6 points, 0.9 three-pointers, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 9.1 minutes per game over 34 appearances between the Timberwolves and Lakers due to the fact that two-way players are ineligible for the postseason.
Which teams has Matt Ryan played for?
Ryan played two NBA seasons so far for the Lakers, Timberwolves, and Celtics. The lowly beginning of Ryan aligns with his pennywise attitude. He worked morning shifts at his grandfather’s business operating out of a cemetery in his hometown of White Plains, New York, throughout the epidemic while he awaited his big break with an NBA franchise.
Welcome to MN, Matt! pic.twitter.com/eVGw3SeExw
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 8, 2022
LeBron James and Ryan seem to get along well, the basketball player even imitated signing a check while Ryan was in the middle of making six 3-pointers during a preseason game back in 2022 against the Golden State Warriors. The 6-foot-7 forward is just one of several unproven players that Los Angeles were relying on. James was not used to this, so it surprised him.
Debate over! Congrats King! You’ve been setting an example of excellence for 20 years, and we are all lucky that you’re still going. All time leading scorer… unreal! pic.twitter.com/vPEnOjwwpL
— Matt Ryan (@Matt_Ryan04) February 8, 2023
“I mean, we’ve got a bunch of guys that are playing that didn’t play last year,” James said back then. “That are in the rotation. That are, like, playing heavy minutes that didn’t play at all — no matter if it was here or with their respective teams. … So, it’s learning.”
Ryan has experience playing in both the NBA and the G League. In 37 regular season games (he also played in 12 Showcase Cup games), he has averaged 19.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 44.4% from the field and 40.1% from three-point range.
Ryan has been waiting for this chance for a long time, despite just playing five minutes with the Celtics last season. He earned a postseason bonus from Boston’s NBA Finals run that he stashed in a savings account.