Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Ryan hit the shot of his life on Wednesday when he connected on a contested 3-pointer from the corner to force overtime in a game it looked like they were going to lose.
Instead, they powered through the extra period and outlasted the New Orleans Pelicans, 120-117.
Ryan has had to travel quite the path to get to this point.
After playing for three different colleges, no one took him in the 2020 NBA Draft. He worked as a DoorDash driver and at a cemetery in the New York City area before the Cleveland Cavaliers added him to their summer league roster that year.
He played in just one game for five minutes last season before the Lakers invited him to training camp in September.
Ryan says that this odyssey did nothing to dent his confidence.
Via Lakers Nation:
“My confidence when it comes to shooting is unwavering,” Ryan said. “I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the case after the past year and a half, two years I’ve had. I wouldn’t be able to play at this level if I didn’t think I could. I wasn’t making a lot of shots all game, I had I think three or four in-and-outs and I’m just thankful Coach gave me another opportunity to hit a 3 at the end to send it to OT.”
The forward had to put in lots of time by himself working on his game, and he says he didn’t only spend that time working on his jumper.
Via The Athletic:
“When I was home alone, and I was in a gym alone, just shooting for hours and hours a day, like, I was convincing myself that I was the best shooter in the world,” Ryan said. “Now I come here, and I’m playing with the best player in the world.”