Chris “Birdman” Andersen was one of the more colorful personalities in the NBA during the 2000s. An elite shot-blocker, Andersen earned his nickname during the Rocky Mountain Review back in 2002 for his arm span and his acrobatics on the court.
Andersen’s personality to go with his various tattoos and hairstyles, made him well known around the league, and he became a fan favorite wherever he went. Now retired, he was recently at the Summer League, where he was asked about his famous tattoos as well as on who has the best hairstyle of all time in the NBA.
Birdman answering the hard hitting questions at Summer League 😂🍿 https://t.co/FtQS3H55W4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 9, 2022
He unsurprisingly named himself and hilariously pointed to his now bald head as his new hairstyle. Andersen also spoke about the Chinese symbols on both of his forearms being his first tattoos, with one side standing for good and the other for evil.
While he is remembered for a lot of things apart from his play, Andersen was quite effective on the court too. After going undrafted in 1999, he was the number 1 pick of the inaugural NBA D-League Draft in 2001 and made a name for himself first in Denver and then in New Orleans. In January 2006, however, he tested positive for a banned substance, which resulted in a ban that ended up lasting just over two years.
He would return to the Hornets in March of 2008 and signed with the Nuggets in the following offseason, where he would have some of his best years. He finished second only to Dwight Howard for blocks per game in the league in 2008/09 with 2.5, despite averaging just over 20 minutes per game. He would also go on to win a title later on in his career with the Big 3 of the Miami Heat in 2013 before ending his career with the Hornets in 2017.
