Chris Anstey

HTML <h2><strong>No</strong><strong>84 CHRIS ANSTEY</strong></h2>

HTML <h2><strong>7 feet 0 inches (213cm) Forward/Centre</strong></h2>

HTML <h2><strong>2000, 2008 Olympic Games</strong></h2>

HTML <p>“I had never touched a basketball the afternoon my younger brother walked into my bedroom and asked me to fill in for his local team at Keilor Basketball Stadium.&#160; They only had four players and would have to forfeit if they could not find a fifth.&#160;I reluctantly agreed, and on the five minute drive he taught me a very brief version of the rules.I could not run with the ball. if I wanted to (which he didn’t want me to), I had to bounce it.&#160; Pretty much run between baskets with my hands up, making them shoot over me at one end, and being a target to pass to on the other end. I ended up with 52 points in a win, and thought of it as a fun way to spend a night.&#160; What I didn’t know was that of the fifteen odd people watching that night, a couple of them were scouts from Nunawading and the Tigers.&#160; Three months later, when they figured out who I was, they called me to come and try out. Six months later, after a couple of tennis tournaments, just before my 18th birthday, I played my first game as a Melbourne Tigers junior,” recalls Chris Anstey.</p>

HTML <p>Christopher “Chris” John Anstey was born January 1st, 1975 in Melbourne, Victoria. He took up basketball at seventeen years of age, so he was a “late starter”. His first sport was tennis and he was nationally ranked as a fifteen year old.</p>

HTML <p>In 1994 at age nineteen Chris joined the Melbourne Tigers Club coached by Lindsay Gaze. The potential Chris showed at that stage was very evident. He was nearly 7 feet (213cm) tall, mobile, well balanced had very good hands and was very athletic up and down the court. These attributes had no doubt been enhanced by his tennis career.</p>

HTML <p>Such was Chris’s rapid rise in basketball and his undoubted physical attributes at the end of 1994 Chris was chosen to the Australian Men’s Team (Boomers) to tour Europe. He played seven games on the tour and returned with a much greater grasp on world basketball and the opportunities it held. </p>

HTML <p>Chris surprised many fans when in 1995 he moved to the South Eastern Melbourne Magic under Coach Brian Goorjian. Chris explains why that happened. “After my first season with the Melbourne Tigers, I met Brian Goorjian.&#160; After a half hour of meeting him and hearing his philosophy on hard work, I was sold.&#160; I wanted to be a basketball player......he believed I could. He believed I could do more than I thought possible and that was to play in the NBA, play for Australia, and be a really good player by any standards.&#160; He spoke about a process that would allow me to do all that.&#160; It would be the hardest thing I’d ever done, but it would be worth it. Without that meeting, my career probably would never have happened.”</p>

HTML <p>That same year Chris played for the Boomers in a game against the Magic Johnson All Stars. </p>

HTML <p>Chris was to stay with the Magic Club for three years (1995-1997). In 1996 he received the award of Most Improved Player in the National Basketball League (NBL) as the Magic won the NBL championships. In 1997 the Magic were second in the NBL Championships. In that year Chris played games for the National Under 23 Team against touring teams from Croatia, the University of Arizona and University of Texas El Paso. These games were part of the Australian Under 23 Team’s preparation for the Under 23 World Championships for Men which were to be held in Australia in 1997. </p>

HTML <p>In the Under 23 World Championships held in Melbourne the Australian U23 Team (Crocs) of which Chris was a member started slowly and then stormed home to win the Gold Medal. This was the first Gold medal at a World or Olympic Championship for Australian men’s basketball teams. Chris was a standout in those championships (he was named the MVP of the team) and his performances attracted the attention of the scouts from Europe and the USA. This was quite amazing as he had really only being playing basketball for three and a half years.</p>

HTML <p>Chris’s career was skyrocketing and in the US National Basketball Association (NBA) draft of 1997 he was chosen by the Portland Trailblazers. His trading rights were then traded to the Dallas Mavericks. In his “rookie” season (1997/98) with Dallas he averaged 5.9 points per game, and was seen as a player with great potential considering he had only been playing basketball for a relatively short period.After two years with Dallas he was traded to the Chicago Bulls for the 1999/2000 season. </p>

HTML <p>In 1998 Chris played for the Boomers against Japan, Canada, in Goodwill Games, and in the 1998 World Championships held in Greece (where the Boomers finished in 9th place).</p>

HTML <p>In 1999 he played for the Boomers against Russia and Canada.The Boomers under Coach Barry Barnes were building towards the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Chris was chosen to be a member of the Boomers team for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. </p>

HTML <p>The build-up for Chris and the team in 2000 included a three game series against the Russians, a tour to Europe to play teams in France and Italy, the FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament in Hong Kong and leading into the Games, matches against the USA (Melbourne) and Lithuania (Wollongong).</p>

HTML <p>The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games were a highlight for all Australian athletes and teams. Chris’s role was to be a support Centre/power forward for Mark Bradtke and NBA star Luc Longley. He had limited opportunities but gave his all whenever he was on the court. The Boomers started the tournament slowly but surged home to make the semi-finals where they played France. Unfortunately the Boomers lost to France and then to Lithuania in the playoff for the Bronze Medal. The Boomers played exceptionally well to finish 4thin the Olympics their equal best result.</p>

HTML <p>After the 2000 Olympics Chris left the NBA and returned to Australia to play for the Victoria Titans (the Magic Club had folded) in the NBL. He won the NBL Best Sixth Man Award in the 2001/02 season. That same year he toured China with the Boomers and played on their seven game tour of Europe (Yugoslavia-Spain).</p>

HTML <p>Other challenges beckoned and Chris left in 2003 to play in Russia with the Ural Great Permclub who were second in the Russian Championships that year. Chris won the ULEB Cup MVP while playing with The Ural Great Perm Club. He was also named the Best Centre in the Russian League and to the Russian Championship All Import Team.</p>

HTML <p>That same year (2003) he played for the Boomers in games against the Czech Republic and on another tour to Europe as well as the all important Olympic Qualification series against New Zealand where the Boomers qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics. </p>

HTML <p>In 2004 Chris played for the Boomers in a four match tour of Italy and a three match series against New Zealand. He played with UNICS Kazan in the 2004 season and led them to the Euro Challenge Championship and to the Final of Russian Championships. He was named to the Euro League All Star Team</p>

HTML <p>He was unavailable for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games where the Boomers finished 9th.</p>

HTML <p>In 2005 he played for UNICS Kazan again and was named to the FIBA Europe League All Star Team.</p>

HTML <p>In 2006 Chris returned to Australia to play with his original NBL club the Melbourne Tigers. His career was now in full bloom. In 2006 he was named the NBL MVP and the NBL Grand Final MVP when the Tigers won the NBL Championship. </p>

HTML <p>The Tigers won the NBL championships in 2008 and Chris was named the NBL Best Defensive Player and the NBL regular season MVP. He led the NBL in blocked shots in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and in rebounding in 2008 and 2009. </p>

HTML <p>At this stage of his career his international experience, skills, size and leadership were vital components of the Boomers team. In the lead in to the 2008 Beijing Olympics Chris played for the Boomers against New Zealand, in a tournament in Croatia and in the FIBA Diamond ball in Nanjing in China before arriving in Beijing for the Games. The Boomers finished in 7th place in Beijing.</p>

HTML <p> Chris retired from international basketball after the 2008 Olympics.</p>

HTML <p>After the 2009/10 NBL season Chris retired from all basketball. His career had been an outstanding one. He played on three NBL Championship winning teams (1996, 2006, and 2008) and for his country for fourteen years. He had played for Australia in two Olympic Games and one World Championships at the senior level and had won a Gold Medal at a World Under 23 Championships.</p>

HTML <p>After retiring from basketball Chris stayed in touch with the sport and in 2012 was named as the Coach for the Melbourne Tigers for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 seasons.</p>

HTML <p>After a late start in the game Chris Anstey had achieved many honours in the game of basketball. His height, athletic ability, drive, belief and his ability to learn quickly and enhance his skills to an elite level made him one of the premier Australian players in his generation. One of the few Australian players to have played in the NBA, he had also been an All Star in Europe, and had dominated his time in the Australian NBL. His has been a distinguished basketball career.</p>

HTML <p>Chris Anstey on defence for Australia (Courtesy of Basketball Australia)</p>

HTML <p>Chris Anstey blocks another shot (Courtesy of Basketball Australia)</p>

HTML <p>Chris Anstey dunks against New Zealand (Basketball Australia)</p>