{"id":17451,"date":"2025-05-08T01:58:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T01:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/17451\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T01:58:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T01:58:23","slug":"i-made-nba-history-with-the-denver-nuggets-as-birdman-their-tattooed-enforcer-then-was-kicked-out-of-the-league-for-two-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/17451\/","title":{"rendered":"I made NBA history with the Denver Nuggets as Birdman, their tattooed enforcer\u2014then was kicked out of the league for two years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Birdman! Birdman! Birdman!<\/p>\n

Chris Andersen was one of a kind.<\/p>\n

\"DENVER<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Andersen was the Denver Nuggets’ bad boyCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

His look was one of the most iconic and recognizable in NBA<\/a> history.<\/p>\n

The acrobatic high-flyer with the 7-foot-2 wingspan, covered in ink from head to toe, with spiked hair, earned him the nickname Birdman when he played for the Denver Nuggets<\/a> in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

Birdman quickly became a household name in the Association, but his path was by no means linear.<\/p>\n

Andersen originally went undrafted out of high school before catching on with the Cleveland Cavaliers’<\/a> summer league squad in 2001.<\/p>\n

After briefly signing with the Phoenix Suns<\/a>, Andersen was then selected with the first overall pick by the\u00a0Fayetteville Patriots\u00a0in the NBA Development League’s inaugural draft, known as the D-League at the time.<\/p>\n

He became the first D-League player in league history to be called up by an NBA team, when he signed with the Denver Nuggets later that year.<\/p>\n

Andersen would go on to have a 15-year career in the NBA, with seven of those coming in Denver, during two different stints.<\/p>\n

However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Andersen.<\/p>\n

He was suspended in the middle of his NBA career from 2006-2008 for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.<\/p>\n

Andersen’s suspension risked expulsion from the league under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement because his actions fell under the “drugs of abuse” category.<\/p>\n

\"DENVER<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Andersen became a fan favorite during his time in DenverCredit: Getty\"MIAMI,<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Andersen would win a championship with LeBron James and the Miami Heat in 2013Credit: Getty\"Andersen<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Andersen has one of the most iconic looks of any playerCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

He appealed the ruling for over two years, before the NBA Players Association finally granted his request to be reinstated.<\/p>\n

Birdman would go on to play 10 more years in the league after his two-year absence.<\/p>\n

Including becoming an NBA champion as a member of the Miami Heat<\/a> in 2013 alongside LeBron James<\/a>, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.<\/p>\n

However, he is most widely remembered for his time in the Mile High City.<\/p>\n

He was Denver’s enforcer. Bully. High-flyer.<\/p>\n

Birdman backed down from no one.<\/p>\n

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal claims he\u2019d \u2018tear up\u2019 Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic in his prime<\/p>\n

The days of Birdman roaming the paint in the Mile High city are long gone.<\/p>\n

The current iteration of the Denver Nuggets is led by one of the most talented players the game has ever seen in Nikola Jokic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The three-time MVP brought the city its first championship and remains the best player in the game today.<\/p>\n

Jokic is leading the Nuggets into battle against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> in the second round of the postseason.<\/p>\n

Denver was able to steal Game 1 in OKC, and will look to do the same on Wednesday night for Game 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Birdman! Birdman! Birdman! Chris Andersen was one of a kind. 4 Andersen was the Denver Nuggets’ bad boyCredit:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[328,7,366,6549,301,187,3943,6,253,302,179,34,2934,254,209,574,6551,6550],"class_list":{"0":"post-17451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-nuggets","8":"tag-alex-caruso","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-chet-holmgren","11":"tag-chris-andersen","12":"tag-denver","13":"tag-denver-nuggets","14":"tag-denvernuggets","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-nikola-jokic","17":"tag-nuggets","18":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","19":"tag-playoffs","20":"tag-postseason","21":"tag-russell-westbrook","22":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","23":"tag-western-conference","24":"tag-what-channel-is-the-thunder-game-on","25":"tag-what-time-do-the-nuggets-play"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114469739312339003","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}