22Australian C Chris Anstey competing for Dallas Mavericks in NBA.
Christopher John Anstey was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 1 January 1975. He initially pursued tennis and only took up basketball at age 17, developing rapidly through the Victorian and Australian basketball systems. A 213-centimetre centre known for his shooting ability and international experience, Anstey played for South East Melbourne Magic, Melbourne Tigers and Victoria Titans in the NBL, as well as professionally in the NBA, Russia and Spain. He represented Australia at the 2000 Sydney and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, was part of the Boomers’ 1998 World Championship team, and later became a coach, author and basketball educator. His most recent playing context was Australian professional basketball before retiring at the end of the 2009–10 season.
Anstey’s first major breakthrough came in 1997. He was named MVP of the FIBA Under-22 World Championship after helping Australia win gold in Melbourne, then became the 18th overall selection in the 1997 NBA Draft. His draft selection was described by his official biography as the first time a player from Australia’s NBL had been drafted into the NBA.
NBA career: 155 regular-season games, averaging 5.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. NBA team split: 82 games with Dallas and 73 with Chicago. Internationally, he was MVP of the 1997 FIBA Under-22 World Championship, won gold at that tournament, represented Australia at two Olympic Games and finished fourth at Sydney 2000. In the NBL, he won three championships and was named NBL MVP and NBL Grand Final MVP in both 2006 and 2008. He was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2022.
Defining moments include winning gold and the MVP award at the 1997 FIBA Under-22 World Championship; being selected 18th overall in the 1997 NBA Draft; helping Australia finish fourth at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, then the Boomers’ best Olympic result before Tokyo 2020; and captaining title-winning NBL teams in 2006 and 2008 while earning both regular-season and Grand Final MVP honours.