Kenny Anderson (basketball)
A New York City playground legend whose dazzling handles and flashy passes made him a college star and a durable NBA journeyman.
Born 1970 (age 56)·American basketball player·Birthday: October 9·Generation X
Biography
Kenny Anderson was basketball royalty long before he touched an NBA floor. A prodigy from Queens, his name was whispered on asphalt courts across New York City. At Georgia Tech, he lived up to the hype, becoming a first-team All-American and leading the Yellow Jackets to the Final Four in 1990 as a sophomore. Drafted second overall in 1991, his professional career was a 14-year odyssey across eleven NBA teams. While he never became a perennial All-Star, Anderson's quickness, iconic crossover, and inventive passing made him a reliable floor general and a fan favorite wherever he played. His story is one of immense early promise, adapting to a role-player's life, and ultimately embodying the gritty persistence required for a long career in the league.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Kenny was born in 1970, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Kenny Was Born
The biggest hits of 1970
#1 Movie
Love Story
Best Picture
Patton
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Kenny's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1970Born
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1975Started school
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1983Became a teenager
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Could drive
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1988Could vote
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Turned 21
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2000Turned 30
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 40
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 50
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 56 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Named a consensus first-team All-American in 1991 after averaging 25.9 points and 5.7 assists per game at Georgia Tech.
- Led Georgia Tech to its first NCAA Final Four appearance in 1990 as a sophomore point guard.
- Played 14 seasons in the NBA for 11 different teams, averaging 12.6 points and 6.1 assists per game for his career.
- Was selected with the second overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets.
Did You Know?
He was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school sophomore with the headline 'The Best Schoolboy Player Ever?'.
Anderson played for an NBA-record 11 different franchises during his career (tied with several others).
He later became a high school basketball coach, including a stint at his alma mater, Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens.
In college, he was part of Georgia Tech's 'Lethal Weapon 3' trio alongside Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver.
“I was a New York City point guard—that's a badge of honor.”
