Chris Andersen in 2001. (Denver Post file)
On Nov. 21, 2001, Chris Andersen became the first Development League player to be called up by an NBA team when the Denver Nuggets brought him up from the Fayetteville Patriots.
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The top overall pick in the D-League’s 2001 draft, Andersen went on to become one of the NBA’s top defensive big men. He played a total of six-plus seasons with the Nuggets in two different stints, and picked up the nickname “Birdman” from Nuggets teammates Junior Harrington and Kenny Satterfield in along the way because of his impressive dunks.
The Nuggets amnestied Andersen in 2012, but six months later he signed a 10-day contract with Miami and was kept on for the remainder of the season, helping LeBron James and the Heat to a title in 2013. Last July he signed a two-year deal to stay with the Heat.
