A very low percentage of basketball players get an opportunity to play in the NBA. An even smaller percentage of basketball players get to be part of a team that’s going to the NBA Finals. Since joining the Boston Celtics earlier in the 2021-22 season, Matt Ryan has now gotten the opportunity to do both. In a recent interview with Jay King of The Athletic, he admitted he never thought he would be where he is right now.
“I haven’t heard a story like that, like mine,” Ryan told King. “It blows my mind. I can’t even believe this is my story, but it is.”
The COVID-19 pandemic affected players like Ryan back when he was in college. Because of all the measures that were taken to prevent the spread, Ryan did not get the opportunity to work out for NBA teams that guys like him usually would in 2020 or play in the Summer League that year because the pandemic canceled it. Before joining the Celtics, he had to work other jobs to make ends meet.
“The whole past year for me pretty much has been a movie,” Ryan told Souichi Terada of MassLive. “A year ago, I was driving DoorDash and working outside at a cemetery. Now, I’m in the NBA Finals.”
In the summer of 2021, the Cleveland Cavaliers invited Ryan to play on their Summer League roster. After that ended, the Denver Nuggets signed Ryan to a training camp deal but he was waived before the regular season started. After spending time with the Grand Rapid Golds in the G League and with the USA Basketball Men’s World Cup qualifying team, Boston then signed Ryan to a two-way contract shortly after promoting Sam Hauser from his two-way contract into a full-time contract.
Knowing where he was not too long ago, Ryan told King that this playoff run is something he will never forget.
“From where I was a year ago to now is the most incredible thing to me… No matter how it ends, I’m always going to remember this year as pretty much the best year of my life.”
Ryan Will Not Be Eligible to Play in the NBA Finals
After the Celtics signed Ryan to a two-way contract on Feb 28, 2022, Ryan split his time between Boston and their G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. The only game Ryan got to play for Boston was in their regular-season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 10, 2022, where he scored three points in five minutes of action.
First NBA Game and First NBA Points for our Two-Way Player @Matt_Ryan04 ☘️ t.co/ZEHlzI4mxx
However, because Ryan has been signed to a two-way contract, he is not playoff eligible and hence, not able to play against the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals. That’s why he has spent the entire playoffs wearing street clothes. By contrast, other players that were brought in around the same time as Ryan like Nik Stauskas and Luke Kornet are eligible to play because they are on full-time contracts.
Boston Won a Playoff Game on Ryan’s Birthday
Matt Ryan’s birthday is on April 17, 1997, which is around the time when the NBA postseason usually starts. For the Celtics, their first game of the playoffs took place right on Ryan’s 25th birthday when they faced the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. That game ended with Jayson Tatum hitting a buzzer-beater to win the game.
After the game was over, Ryan took to Twitter to say that Tatum’s buzzer-beater in Game 1 made for the greatest birthday ever for him.
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Celtic Reflects on NBA Journey, ‘I Was Working for Doordash!’