A few years ago, Matt Ryan posted on social media about draft nite in 2020. Ryan was at work while other players watched their names be called and embraced their families in front of the cameras. running outdoors. taking pictures in a driveway. He would lift in any gym. Due to the pandemic, the draft was postponed until November of that year, and his name was never mentioned. There was also no invitation to the G League bubble. For a few weeks, he drove DoorDash. He was employed at a Yonkers cemetery. He continued to fire.
The Yonkers cemetery is one of those details that doesn’t neatly fit into a typical basketball biography, and perhaps that’s what makes Matt Ryan’s story worthwhile. He was named Mr. New York Basketball in 2015 while attending Iona Prep in New Rochelle, where he averaged 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists as a senior.
He was born in White Plains, New York. A high school profile like that typically leads to a more traditional place. Ryan’s journey took him to Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and Chattanooga, where he eventually found steady playing time and averaged 15.4 points per game as a graduate student. three universities. There are four seasons. A career that was constantly rerouted before it could establish itself.
The NBA’s post-undraft trajectory was comparable. He averaged 15.8 points per game while playing for the Grand Rapids Gold in the G League in 2021–2022, which was sufficient to secure a two-way contract with Boston. Before the team advanced far into the playoffs that spring, he made one NBA appearance with the Celtics, scoring three points in five minutes against Memphis in April 2022. Then came the Los Angeles Lakers, where Ryan made the final 15-man roster following training camp. In November 2022, he tied a game against New Orleans at the regulation buzzer with a corner three. In overtime, the Lakers prevailed. It was the kind of moment that seemed to mark a sea change. Three weeks later, he was waived.
For players on the periphery, what transpired was a fair representation of the NBA’s revolving door. He received a two-way deal from Minnesota. He had his longest run in New Orleans, scoring 5.4 points per game on 45.1 percent three-point shooting in 28 games, which is truly impressive by any measure.
Before the next season began, the Pelicans waived him, re-signed him, and then waived him once more. The Knicks followed with 19 games in 2024–2025, few minutes, and ultimately another waiver. A player with Ryan’s shooting efficiency (40.2 percent from three throughout his career) might only need the correct circumstances and consistent playing time to demonstrate his true abilities.
Observing careers like this give one the impression that the NBA’s roster management system isn’t always built to support players who require time to establish themselves. Despite spending the majority of his NBA career playing 8 to 10 minutes per game in circumstances that rarely allowed him to establish a rhythm, Ryan is a legitimate shooter in a league that prioritizes shooting above nearly everything else. When New Orleans gave him actual playing time, he had his best season. The numbers reacted right away.
In August 2026, Ryan, now 29, joined Maxima Roma of the Italian Serie A, a league that will allow him to play. During World Cup qualifying windows, he played for USA Basketball. He has persevered through circumstances that would have ended most careers. The Matt Ryan basketball story was never going to be a straight line, and that’s precisely what makes it worthwhile to follow.
