Nick Anderson (basketball)
Nelison "Nick" Anderson (born January 20, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former pro basketball player.
He spent thirteen years in the NBA (beginning in 1989), most of them with the Orlando Magic. Anderson ended his career in 2002. Anderson went through Simeon Vocational High School in Chicago, and the University of Illinois. He wore No. 25 in honor of his late friend and teammate, Ben Wilson. Anderson himself was the first draft pick in the history of the Orlando Magic, selected 11th in the 1989 NBA Draft. He is Orlando's career scoring leader, and was the last original Magic player to leave, playing 10 seasons with the club. A starter for almost all of his career in Orlando, he emerged as the top scorer the year before Shaquille O'Neal was drafted. With the addition of O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway in consecutive drafts, Anderson, along with Dennis Scott became effective outside scoring options for the Magic, complementing O'Neal's inside play and Hardaway's all-around game tremendously. Anderson led the team in three-pointers made in 1994-95, hitting 179 and averaging just under 16 points per game. The Magic won 57 games, finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and won their first ever Atlantic Division title.
Anderson is best remembered for two incidents during that year's NBA Playoffs, when the Magic reached their one and only NBA Finals. The first occurred in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Chicago Bulls. With Magic trailing by one point with under 20 seconds remaining, Anderson stole the ball from Michael Jordan. The steal led to a basket, giving the Magic the lead. They would go on to win the game, and the series in six games, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. After defeating the Indiana Pacers in seven games, the Magic began the NBA Finals at home, hosting the defending champion Houston Rockets. With the Magic up by three points late in the Game 1, Anderson missed four consecutive free throws, and Kenny Smith hit a three pointer, tying the game and sending it to overtime. The Rockets would go on to win in overtime and eventually sweep the Magic, winning their second consecutive NBA Championship. Anderson would play on with the Magic through the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, after which he was traded to the Sacramento Kings. He played two seasons in Sacramento, averaging a career-low at that point, 10.8 points per contest in 72 games his first season. He would play just 21 games the next season, and just 15 games in his final season, in which he played for the Memphis Grizzlies.
On March 10, 2006 the Orlando Magic held a tribute to Nick Anderson during a home game against the Cavaliers. While many Magic fans have voiced their desire for Anderson's #25 to be retired, the Magic seems unwilling and the aforementioned tribute appears to be as far as they'll go. Currently, the team has yet to retire the jersey of any former player.
Anderson is now retired from basketball, but recently accepted a job with the Magic in the community relations department.
Psychological disorder
Anderson is well known for his role in sports psychology. After missing four pivotal free throws in the 1995 NBA Championships that led to the defeat of the Orlando Magic to the Houston Rockets, Anderson developed a psychological problem that greatly affected his free throw shooting. His free throw percentage dipped sharply and dropped to 40% at one point. He had developed a fear of shooting free throws as a result of his belief that his missed free throws in the NBA Finals caused the Magic to lose. This was an anomaly as he was considered to be a great shooter. After the help of sports psychologists, Anderson improved his free throw shooting but showed signs of his fear again during the last year of his NBA career.