Anderson Gallery | New Anderson Player Profile

As a professional, Derek Anderson hoisted the 2005-06 Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy awarded to the NBA Finals winners – a prize that eluded the veteran guard for nine years while playing for five different teams.

But when the confetti dropped and parades ensued in sweltering Miami, Anderson didn’t relish in the championship journey as much as the 1996 NCAA Championship he won as a junior at the University of Kentucky.

For one, Anderson admittedly didn’t enjoy the politics that clouded a star-studded Heat roster, with two of the game’s biggest icons and a supporting cast of characters’ heavy egos. Yes, he won a championship, but it wasn’t on his terms.

So Anderson, who was waived by Miami following a contract buyout on September 12, 2006, joined the Bobcats on November 28, 2006. Anderson, who played with Portland from 2001-05 when the Trail Blazers had one of the league’s largest payrolls, coveted a less glamorous team – one that prided itself on a blue-collar attitude instead of sheer talent.

“I’ve won a championship, been in different situations, and I wanted to come learn how to coach, learn how to teach guys while I was playing,” Anderson said. “I still have a couple of years left, so I wanted to transition myself into something like this and it worked out well.”

The early-season transaction resulted in an instant marriage, melting Anderson’s veteran demeanor with the Bobcats willingness to learn.

Joining Charlotte allowed Anderson an immediate opportunity to play, even if it was more than he initially anticipated. He scored four points just one day after being signed, and seven games later, was thrust into the starting lineup.

Even then, Anderson was still regenerating his conditioning after missing the first month of the season. He struggled offensively, failing to notch double-digits in 12 of 14 games. During the same stretch, he didn’t play in three games.

But a nasty spill by Gerald Wallace on December 30, 2006 dictated that Anderson be moved back into Charlotte’s starting five, and that circumstance helped Anderson resurrect his career and illustrate that he still belonged.

“I can still play and other teams thought I could still play, it was like, let me go somewhere where they understand what a value I am,” Anderson said. “That’s what I did when I came here. Bernie (Bickerstaff) understood what I could bring to this team and it showed.”

During a cold night on January 12 at the acclaimed Madison Square Garden, Anderson’s contribution may have been the most evident when he scored a season-high 29 points, including a career-high-tying six threes. He shot 9-11 from the field and 6-8 from beyond the arc, triggering the best shooting percentage on the road all season, including a season-best 74 points in the second half.

Anderson stayed in the starting lineup for the next 17 games until a sprained right ankle on February 3 sidelined him for five contests.

Even during the injury and a subsequent right knee sprain, which forced him out of 10 of 11 games down the stretch, the Bobcats saturated in Anderson’s subtle wisdom and experience. Whether it was instructing Wallace to keep his elbow in tight on his jumper or offering informational nuggets about defensive angles, Anderson’s contribution proved invaluable.

“I tried to instill (in my teammates) how to mentally prepare themselves, more or less than physical, because they’ve got talent,” Anderson said. “If you can get these guys mentally to stay focused, there’s no limit to what any individual can do…that’s what I told them, ‘Mentally, you’ve got to stay focused and stay strong to be successful.’”

Even with Anderson adding perimeter depth and contributing a .877 free throw shooting percentage, Bickerstaff often referred to the 6-5, 220-pound guard as a “calming force” and “stabilizer,” citing Anderson’s influence on the court and in the locker room.

Anderson, a devout Christian, quickly became another virtuous force, and tutored sharpshooters Matt Carroll and Adam Morrison, along with point guard Raymond Felton.

“A lot of it has been that this is your life,” Anderson said. “Don’t look at it as one day or one game. This could affect the rest of your life. One injury, one bad decision, one technical, one fight – all of that could effect the rest of your life.”

Following a March 13 announcement that Bickerstaff would no longer be the head coach in Charlotte, Anderson was included in a Charlotte Observer online fan poll about being the Bobcats next coach, but dispelled any unlikely notions with four double-digit efforts to finish the season.

On April 10, he scored 17 points in just 13 minutes off the bench, helping the Bobcats embarrass his former team for the second time in as many nights. The Louisville native strung together 11 straight Charlotte points during a pivotal 15-2 second quarter run, connecting on two treys within 27 seconds as the Bobcats beat the Heat, 92-82.

“Whenever you get a chance to play against your old team, you seem to have a little more fire in your belly,” said point guard Brevin Knight. “He definitely had that fire, and he carried us in the first half.”

Despite starting 32 of his 50 games, Anderson still had to answer silly questions about his lingering retirement.

After a team-high 24-point, 10-assist performance during a record-setting victory over Orlando on March 12, even Bickerstaff innocently joked about Anderson’s age.

“The old man did well,” Bickerstaff said following the victory, when Charlotte set a franchise-record 39 assists on 42 field goals. “We need him and our other veterans to keep us poised. Derek makes a lot of cerebral plays that stop the leaking.”

While Anderson seems destined for a bench either in college or in the pro’s, he’s made it publicly clear that his NBA career is certainly not over, saying he wants to play at least another two years.

“I want to come back to this organization, because I think they’ve been loyal and been fair, and they’ve got a growing process going,” Anderson, who is a free agent, said. “I think that would be great for me to stay here, and once again I want to go somewhere and do that. I want to make sure that I’m somewhat of a fit mentally and to be able to help someone out.”

If Charlotte reciprocates Anderson’s wishes, the soon-to-be 33-year-old is excited about making the Bobcats a playoff contender, year-in and year-out.

“You keep building,” Anderson said. “That’s what organizations do. You build up – you get in a mental state. Sometimes you’re up and down, but once you get above water, that’s when you need to stay above.”