The New Jersey Nets followed up the selection of Derrick Coleman No. 1 overall in 1990 by taking Georgia Tech sophomore Kenny Anderson with the second overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft.
Anderson was an All-American both years he was at Tech, averaging 25.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists as a sophomore.
Brooklyn Nets
But lengthy contract negotiations limited his contributions as a rookie, as Anderson didn’t sign his five-year, $14.5 million deal until the regular season was set to open.
Having missed all of camp, Anderson came in behind the 8-ball and was primarily a reserve as a rookie behind Mookie Blaylock at the point. The following offseason, New Jersey opened the door for Anderson to take over the offense, trading Blaylock to the Atlanta Hawks.
Anderson had a solid sophomore year until breaking his wrist in February and missing the final 27 games plus the playoffs.
He was an All-Star in 1993-94, nearly averaging a double-double with 18.8 points and 9.6 assists per game, but struggled with nagging injuries in 1994-95 as the Nets fell out of the playoff picture.
Struggling with his shooting and on a team that had already traded away Coleman, Anderson was dealt in January 1996 to the Charlotte Hornets along with forward Gerald Glass, with swingman Kendall Gill and point guard Khalid Reeves coming back to the Nets in the trade.
In parts of five seasons with New Jersey, Anderson averaged 15.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 32.8 minutes per game on .409/.325/.810.
The New York native who played his high school ball at Archbishop Molloy appeared in seven playoff games for the Nets, starting four and averaging 10.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 29.3 minutes per game on .349/3-for-10/.686 shooting.
In the 1994 first-round loss to the New York Knicks, Anderson averaged 45.3 minutes per game.
Anderson was 2nd in the NBA in assists in 1994-95, fourth in 1993-94 and eighth in 1992-93; while finishing eighth in minutes played in 1993-94 (3,135).
For the 1986-96 period for the Nets, Anderson had the most assists (2,363). was second with 476 steals and third with 183 3-pointers and 4,655 points.
Anderson played parts of 14 seasons with nine different teams before playing the 2005-06 season in Lithuania. When he was released by Zalgiris Kaunas after that season, he retired.