Ryan Philip Saunders (born April 28, 1986) 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 ...

assistant coach. He is known for his work in the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

(NBA) as a head coach for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

, as an assistant coach for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, and in player development with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

staff. He is the son of longtime NBA coach

Flip Saunders Philip Daniel "Flip" Saunders (February 23, 1955 – October 25, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. During his career, he coached the La Crosse Catbirds, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards. High schoo ...

Early life

Born in Medina, Minnesota, Saunders graduated from Wayzata High School in

Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis. The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnes ...

in 2004.

College playing career

A walk-on, Saunders played basketball at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

from 2004 to 2008 as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

. He played only 20 games in his first two seasons in a backup role. Saunders redshirted the 2006–07 season due to a wrist injury and did not play any games in the 2007–08 season. Saunders graduated from Minnesota in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in sport management.

Coaching career

After he achieved his bachelor's degree and finished playing college basketball, Saunders was a graduate manager under Tubby Smith in the 2008–09 season while pursuing a master's degree in applied kinesiology. In 2009, he began coaching in the NBA, becoming an assistant coach for the

. Then, starting in 2014, he was an assistant coach for the

. On January 6, 2019, Saunders was promoted to interim head coach of the Timberwolves after Tom Thibodeau was fired, also becoming the youngest head coach in the NBA for the 2018–19 season. On January 8, Saunders got his first win in his debut as head coach when the Timberwolves defeated the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

, and became the youngest head coach to win in his debut since 1978. On May 20, the Timberwolves announced that Saunders signed to a multi-year deal to become the team's permanent head coach, removing his "interim" status. At age 33, Saunders became the youngest head coach in the league, despite having over 10 years of NBA experience under his belt. On February 21, 2021, Saunders was fired by the Timberwolves, after leading them to a 7–24 record. On June 12, 2022, the

hired Saunders as an assistant coach under Michael Malone. Saunders won an NBA championship in

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when the Nuggets defeated the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

in the NBA Finals. On May 30, 2025, it was announced that Saunders and the Nuggets would be parting ways.

Head coaching record

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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Academic career

Ryan Saunders joined University of Northwestern-St. Paul as an adjunct instructor for the Spring 2022 semester where he taught Sports Leadership in the College of Behavioral & Natural Sciences.

Personal life

When Saunders was born, his father

was an assistant coach at the

. Ryan Saunders grew up in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, as Flip later worked as head coach for CBA teams in those states (specifically, the

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basket ...

(1988–1989), La Crosse Catbirds (1989–1994), and Sioux Falls Skyforce (1994–1995)). In 1995, the Saunders family returned to the

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...

area when Flip Saunders became head coach of the

, a position he would maintain for the rest of Ryan's childhood. Saunders married his wife Hayley in 2017, and they had a son in 2019. Saunders is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Saunders has taken part in multiple basketball camps for the youth and charitable organizations in Minnesota.Wizards Assistant Coaches
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References

External links

Minnesota bio
from 2007 to 2008 media guide, p. 64 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Ryan 1986 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Minnesota Basketball players from Minnesota Guards (basketball) Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches Minnesota Timberwolves head coaches People from Wayzata, Minnesota Sportspeople from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area Washington Wizards assistant coaches