WATCH: Former Vanderbilt star Matt Ryan gets emotional after breakout Summer League performance
A year ago, Matt Ryan was a DoorDash delivery driver. That was a far cry from an NBA career he was striving for, going undrafted after playing at Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and Chattanooga over his college career.
Monday night, Ryan capped off his whirlwind journey over the last year, hitting a game-winning shot with less than a second left for the Boston Celtics in the NBA Summer League. After the game, he got emotional talking about what it meant to have that moment.
“It’s pretty emotional,” Ryan told reporters after the game. “It’s been a crazy 11 months. I was home for a year and a half. I don’t know if you guys heard my story, but man, I was driving DoorDash a year ago. To be here, to be part of the Boston Celtics, it’s special. It’s special.”
Ryan started out at Notre Dame out of high school before transferring to Vanderbilt from 2018-19. He then played at Chattanooga for the 2019-20 season and went undrafted during the 2020 NBA Draft. After a stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Summer League, he returned home when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The Celtics signed him to a two-way contract during the season.
Matt Ryan hits draining game-winning three point shot in NBA Summer League
In a wild moment during a dramatic Summer League finish, Boston Celtics forward Matt Ryan sunk a game-winning three while injuring his ankle. The fans in attendance and his teammates went from celebrating his buzzer-beating shot to watching quietly as he held his ankle in obvious pain.
After some time on the floor, Ryan was able to limp off the court under his own power before clapping his hands in anger at the injury.
Ryan’s college career began at Notre Dame, where he saw his minutes decrease in his second year and eventually transferred to Vanderbilt. As a junior with Vanderbilt, he averaged 8.1 points per game, and transferred the following season to Chattanooga.
With the Mocs, Ryan had a breakout year — averaging 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He shot 42.3 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from three-point range and 87.9 percent from the free-throw line.