For one moment on Sunday, Justin Anderson was all of us.
In his second game back with the Pacers, Anderson had a front-row seat for arguably the best highlight of the entire season.
As the clock ticked under two minutes in the second quarter, Portland guard C.J. Elleby attempted to drive down the left wing. Oshae Brissett and Lance Stephenson converged on him from either side, with Stephenson swiping the ball out of Elleby's left hand. The ball one-hopped into the hands of Tyrese Haliburton on the baseline. That's when the magic started.
In one motion, Haliburton scooped the ball up and did his best Peyton Manning impersonation, lofting a football-esque pass over Stephenson's shoulders. Stephenson caught the ball beyond halfcourt and promptly went behind the back with his right hand to dish to Brissett, turning towards the stands with his right hand aloft after the pass for theatrical effect.
Brissett put on the finishing touches, taking one dribble and then rising up for a slam. Blazers guard Brandon Williams was hustling back to contest, but Brissett paid no mind to him, blowing through contact to throw down a two-hand reverse slam.
Anderson was trailing the play and his instant reaction to everything that unfolded in front of him was priceless. He threw both hands to his head before Brissett touched back down and dropped his jaw. He walked up to Brissett in that pose — hands on his head, mouth agape — and stared at him for a second before exclaiming, "WHAT?" and dapping his teammate up.
The entire sequence went viral on social media, including Anderson's reaction.
"I mean, are you kidding?" Anderson said of the moment after the game. "I think I was everybody's reaction. Like if you were watching the game on the couch, that got everybody up off their seat, for sure."
Anderson, however, was not watching the game on the couch. And that, in and of itself, is a story worth telling.
The 28-year-old was far more than a spectator on Sunday. He started an NBA game for the first time in a year and a half and was a major player in the Pacers' win, tallying 18 points, six rebounds, and four assists in 36 minutes.
Anderson's performance was the high point to-date in his multi-year fight to work his way back into the NBA.
His performance resonated with Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who was Anderson's first NBA coach in Dallas after the Mavericks drafted the former University of Virginia All-American with the 21st overall pick in 2015.
"He's an NBA player," Carlisle said after the game. "He belongs in this league somewhere."
Anderson played in 106 games for Carlisle in Dallas before being traded to Philadelphia midway through his sophomore season. He spent a year and a half with the Sixers, then another season in Atlanta.
He was invited to training camp with Washington in 2019, but was waived after the preseason. Anderson signed with Raptors 905, Toronto's G League affiliate, and spent two months there before signing a 10-day deal with Brooklyn in Jan. 2020. He got another opportunity with the Nets after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, finishing out the season with Brooklyn in the bubble.
That was Anderson's last significant NBA action. He sat out the 2020-21 season after undergoing leg surgery, then decided to try the G League route back to the NBA once again.
"I have the ultimate confidence in myself," Anderson said. "Unfortunately, I've dealt with some injuries and that's been the only reason I personally believe I haven't been able to showcase my talent in this league still."
Anderson began the 2021-22 season with the Pacers' G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. As the Omicron variant worked its way through the league around the holidays, Anderson had the opportunity to sign a pair of 10-day COVID-19 hardship contracts. He joined Cleveland on Dec. 21, playing in three games for the Cavs, then signed with Indiana on Jan. 1, playing in three games with the Pacers.
After that, Anderson returned to the Mad Ants. With injuries on the Pacers' roster keeping two-way players Terry Taylor and Duane Washington Jr. up in the NBA, Anderson took on a lead role in Fort Wayne, and he flourished.
Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images
Anderson is currently the G League's leading scorer, having averaged 27.8 points (along with 6.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.3 steals) over 22 games in Fort Wayne. He dropped 46 points in a victory over the Windy City Bulls on March 8 and followed that up with 36-point and 31-point performances to become the first Mad Ant to earn G League Player of the Week honors since 2015-16.
Last Wednesday, Anderson was on a plane with the Mad Ants, ready to fly to Toronto for a game with Raptors 905, when Fort Wayne coach Tom Hankins came up to him and told him to get off the plane. Pacers GM Chad Buchanan called him shortly thereafter to say that Indiana was signing him to a 10-day contract.
"I had a lot of confidence in myself and I bet on myself to go to the G League and take the G League route," Anderson said. "Major props to (the Mad Ants) for just helping me be myself, help lead that team. And then I knew that a blessing would come if I could just stay the course. I never looked too far ahead."
Anderson found himself on a different plane on Thursday, headed to Houston with the Pacers. He sat next to Malcolm Brogdon, his teammate for three seasons at Virginia, on the flight.
"It's just very comforting to know that I have somebody that's in my corner," Anderson said of his relationship with Brogdon. "He believes that I belong and he believes that I'm going to get a great opportunity. And for him to be able to kind of reassure (me of) that has been awesome."
Anderson has numerous connections to the Pacers' roster. In addition to Brogdon and Carlisle, he's had a relationship with Myles Turner since they went through the pre-draft process together in 2015 and was teammates with Brissett on Raptors 905. He also played with several current Pacers in Fort Wayne earlier this season, including Taylor, Washington, Isaiah Jackson, and Keifer Sykes.
That familiarity, along with his previous 10-day stint earlier this season, has allowed him to mesh well over the last few days. He played nine minutes on Friday night in Houston, helping the Pacers to a win over the Rockets.
But he was in for a surprise when he walked into the locker room on Sunday morning and saw "Justin" written on the whiteboard as one of the starters against Portland. The last time he was with the Pacers, Justin Holiday was still on the team, but he knew that now he was the only Justin, so it had to be him.
For the first time since Aug. 11, 2020, Anderson was starting an NBA game.
"I tried to keep it cool, but on the inside I was tweaking," Anderson said.
The 28-year-old didn't show any sign of nerves on the court, however. He scored Indiana's first five points on a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer. He added another three later in the first quarter and finished the night 6-for-10 from the field, 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
It was Anderson's highest-scoring game in the NBA in nearly three years and his ninth-highest output of his career.
"He's very grateful for this opportunity and he's improved in some areas that are noteworthy," Carlisle said. "He's got a much better vision of the floor. His driving and kicking game and stuff like that is vastly improved. He shoots the ball well and he's a great rebounder for his size."
Anderson's 10-day contract will keep him with the Pacers for the next three games and he could potentially sign another 10-day after his current deal expires. His ultimate goal is still to earn a permanent NBA roster spot next season and beyond.
Some former first-round picks might let their ego prevent them from going into the G League after playing in the NBA. But for Anderson, it was the right path.
"I love this," he said. "I really do. I knew going into it it wasn't going to be an easy road...Sometimes you've got to take the hard road, the road less traveled. I was two feet in. I didn't think about getting call-ups, I didn't think about anything else but helping that team win and trying to play my best and be the best leader that I could be.
"So as far as ego, I never really let that get in the way."
That attitude is the biggest reason Anderson is back on the court, as far more than a spectator.