Larry Sanders (born November 21, 1988) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

for the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams before declaring himself eligible for the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Time Zone, Eastern Daylight Time (2300 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), was broadcast in the ...

and was selected 15th overall by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

High school career

Sanders did not play basketball in the ninth grade, and the private school he attended did not offer it. However, after he transferred to Port St. Lucie High School, the school's basketball coach, Kareem Rodriguez, saw potential in the then 6'1" Sanders and prevailed on him to play for the team. Sanders grew to 6'4" in his second year and to 6'6" in his third. He would sprout further to 6'9" in his senior year. His production and growth spurt was enough that Rodriguez alerted his friend Tony Pujol, an assistant at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

(VCU), to watch out for him. He began garnering statewide attention in his junior campaign as he helped Port St. Lucie reach the Class 5A state semifinals. In his senior year, while averaging 18.9 points and 13 rebounds, Sanders led Port St. Lucie (20–8) to the District 13-5A Championship, and was named by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

to the First Team All-State. He committed to the VCU Rams when major schools only just started to take interest in him.

College career

At VCU, he was keen to train under its then head coach Anthony Grant, who was known to have tutored standout big men at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

while he was still an assistant there. For his first two seasons for VCU, Sanders played 2nd star to guard

Eric Maynor Eric Demarqua Maynor (born June 11, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for Virginia Commonwealt ...

. He excelled in that role, utilizing his size and athleticism to disrupt teams defensively. As a sophomore, he helped the Rams into the 2009 NCAA tournament against the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, but lost 65–64 in the first round of the tournament. Sanders went on to have a more prominent role in his junior season after Maynor was drafted into the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. As a junior Sanders averaged 14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks, with 53% field-goal accuracy, all statistical team highs, on his way to earning the second of his consecutive CAA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2008–09 and 2009–10. Larry Sanders announced in April 2010 after his junior year that he was departing VCU early to enter the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

Professional career

Milwaukee Bucks (2010–2015)

Sanders was chosen by the

with the 15th overall pick in the

. On July 8, 2010, he signed a multi-year, rookie scaled contract with the Bucks. On February 20, 2011, he was assigned to the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Noblesville Boom are an American professional basketball team based in Noblesville, Indiana that competes in the NBA G League. The Boom are the affiliate team of the NBA's Indiana Pacers and, since 2025, they have played their home games at ...

of the NBA D-League. On February 26, 2011, he was recalled by the Bucks. On November 30, 2012, he recorded his only career

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks in a loss to Minnesota. He finished the season second in blocks per game behind

Serge Ibaka Serge Jonás Ibaka Ngobila (; born 18 September 1989) is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player for Real Madrid Baloncesto, Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the ...

. Sanders also finished third in voting for the

NBA Most Improved Player Award The NBA's Most Improved Player (MIP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player who has shown the most progress during the regular season compared to previous seasons. The winner is selected by a panel of sportsw ...

, after

Paul George Paul Clifton Anthony George (born May 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "PG-13", he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of the ...

and

Greivis Vásquez Greivis Josué Vásquez Rodríguez (born January 16, 1987) is a Venezuelan former professional basketball player, who spent six seasons in the NBA. He is currently a coach, most recently working as the associate head coach for the Birmingham Squa ...

On August 20, 2013, Sanders signed a four-year, $44 million contract extension with the Bucks. In December 2013, Sanders was sidelined for 25 games after sustaining a torn ligament in his thumb in a night club altercation. Sanders was fined for the two municipal citations of disorderly conduct and assault and battery charges, but law enforcement did not pursue further criminal charges. That same year he was cited twice for animal cruelty for leaving two German shepherd puppies outside without proper food, water, and shelter. On March 20, 2014, it was announced that Sanders would miss the rest of the 2013–14 season due to a fractured right orbital bone. On April 4, 2014, Sanders was given a five-game suspension for violating the NBA's drug policy after testing positive for marijuana. In December 2014, Sanders was placed on Bucks' inactive roster for personal reasons. After a seven-game absence, Sanders appeared on the Bucks' bench on January 7, 2015, against the Phoenix Suns, but did not suit up. Rumors emerged that Sanders wanted to leave the sport, all of which were denied by his agent. Sanders again violated the NBA's drug policy during the 2014–15 season and was subsequently suspended without pay for a minimum of ten games on January 16, 2015. It was announced on February 21, 2015, following his second suspension for marijuana use, that the Bucks were buying out Sanders' contract. On February 25, a video of Sanders was released where he explained that he entered into a program at Rogers Memorial Hospital for

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

, depression and

mood disorders A mood disorder, also known as an affective disorder, is any of a group of conditions of mental and behavioral disorder where the main underlying characteristic is a disturbance in the person's mood. The classification is in the ''Diagnostic ...

. He said that the program led him to realize "what's important, and where I would want to devote my time and energy" and that ultimately he realized that "for asketballto be consuming so much of my life and time right now ... it's not there for me. It's not that worth it." He did, however, claim to still love the game and that "if I get to a point where I feel I'm capable of playing basketball again, then I will." On January 26, 2017, Sanders announced his decision to return to basketball.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2017)

On March 13, 2017, Sanders signed with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. He made his debut for the Cavaliers the following night in a 128–98 win over the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. He played the final 1:58 and missed his only shot attempt while recording two fouls. On April 12, 2017, he was waived by the Cavaliers after appearing in five games. During his stint with Cleveland, he had multiple assignments with the Canton Charge of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. He reportedly struggled keeping up with responsibilities on and off the court. Sanders later played with 3 Headed Monsters in the 2019 Big3 season.

Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards (2024)

On August 19, 2024, Sanders signed with the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards of the

Taiwan Professional Basketball League The Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL, zh, 台灣職業籃球大聯盟) is a professional basketball List of basketball leagues, league in Taiwan composed of 7 teams. It is the fourth Taiwanese professional basketball league after the ...

(TPBL). On October 30, the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards terminated the contract relationship with Sanders.

Personal life

In his time away from basketball, Sanders created an artist collective, clothing line, and non-profit organization named Citizen of Matter. Sanders also worked as a music producer under the moniker L8 Show. Sanders received a placement on

PartyNextDoor Jahron Anthony Brathwaite (born July 3, 1993), known professionally as PartyNextDoor (often stylized in all caps), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. He was the first artist to sign with Drake's record label OVO Sound ...

's second studio album titled '' PartyNextDoor 3'' on a track titled "Don't Run".

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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, 52 , , 0 , , 12.4 , , .457 , , .000 , , .474 , , 3.1 , , .6 , , .6 , , 1.5 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 71 , , 55 , , 27.3 , , .506 , , .000 , , .618 , , 9.5 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , 2.8 , , 9.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 23 , , 20 , , 25.4 , , .469 , , .000 , , .473 , , 7.2 , , .8 , , .8 , , 1.7 , , 7.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 27 , , 26 , , 21.7 , , .500 , , – , , .500 , , 6.1 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 1.4 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

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Playoffs

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NBA D-League

Source

Regular season

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Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

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References

External links

VCU Rams bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Larry 1988 births Living people American men's 3x3 basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Florida Big3 players Canton Charge players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers players Doping cases in basketball Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players Sportspeople from Port St. Lucie, Florida Power forwards Taiwan Professional Basketball League imports Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards players VCU Rams men's basketball players

High school career

College career

Professional career

Milwaukee Bucks (2010–2015)

Cleveland Cavaliers (2017)

Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards (2024)

Personal life

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

NBA D-League

Regular season

See also

References

External links