'You just know': Canadian wheelchair basketball legend Patrick Anderson retires at 45

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 12:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 23 minutes ago

One of the astir decorated Canadian hoops players of each clip has retired.

Patrick Anderson, who led the Canadian men's wheelchair hoops squad to 3 Paralympic golden medals and a silver, says past year's Paralympic Games successful Paris was his last.

"You conscionable know," the 45-year-old from Fergus, Ont., said successful a quality release. "Deep down erstwhile the elastic set snaps and you're like, 'You cognize what, it's conscionable not successful maine anymore to enactment successful the blood, sweat and tears to correspond Canada astatine the highest level.

"It's been an honour to bash it for a agelong time."

Anderson has been called the Michael Jordan of wheelchair basketball.

He was 1 of Canada's flag-bearers for the opening ceremonies successful Paris. He scored 31 points and had 11 rebounds successful the bronze-medal crippled that Canada mislaid to Germany.

Anderson said a palmy 2024 play helped successful his determination to retire.

He moved his household to Spain, wherever helium played professionally successful Bilbao, arsenic Canada prepared for an Olympic qualifying repechage tournament. At the last-chance qualifier successful Antibes, France, Anderson led Canada successful a 72-60 triumph implicit Italy to cement a spot astatine the Paralympic Games.

"It was a near-perfect year, the past 1 with the team," said Anderson. "From deciding to spell with my woman and kids to Spain to hole for the qualifier, going to the qualifier and squeaking done successful specified dramatic, breathtaking fashion."

Key relation successful 2006 satellite rubric win

Born successful Edmonton and raised successful Fergus, Anderson discovered wheelchair hoops aft helium was struck by a car astatine property 9 and his little legs were amputated beneath the knee.

He joined the elder Canadian men's squad successful 1998 and helped Canada to a bronze medal astatine that year's satellite championships. He added different bronze successful 2002 earlier playing a cardinal relation successful Canada's gold-medal triumph successful 2006.

At the collegiate level, helium was a standout for the University of Illinois from 1998 to 2001, capturing 3 nationalist titles.

He played professionally successful Australia, Germany and Turkey. He was named the astir invaluable subordinate of the Australian National Wheelchair Basketball League successful 2003. He led German nine RSV Lahn-Dill to 3 consecutive European Champions Cup victories from 2004-06.

Before spending the 2024 play successful Spain, Anderson played 8 seasons with the New York Rollin' Knicks, winning 4 National Wheelchair Basketball Association titles.

Anderson is present helping Canada's adjacent procreation of hoops players arsenic a skills manager and intends to motorboat a wheelchair hoops programme successful his hometown of Fergus.

"It'll beryllium a small spot of tactical feedback astir however I work the crippled and proposal connected however to physique retired the method portion of their game," Anderson said of coaching. "With wheelchair basketball, you person to get bully astatine grooming by yourself and successful tiny groups — I person decades of acquisition doing that."