Mike Sanders (basketball)

Mike Sanders
Sanders in 1987
Personal information
Born (1960-05-07) May 7, 1960
Vidalia, Louisiana, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolDeRidder (DeRidder, Louisiana)
CollegeUCLA (1978–1982)
NBA draft1982: 4th round, 74th overall pick
Drafted byKansas City Kings
Playing career1982–1993
PositionShooting guard
Number35, 7, 11, 33
Coaching career1998–2014
Career history
Playing
1982–1983Montana Golden Nuggets
1983San Antonio Spurs
1983Sarasota Stingers
1983–1988Phoenix Suns
1988–1989Cleveland Cavaliers
1989–1991Indiana Pacers
1991–1993Cleveland Cavaliers
Coaching
1998–1999Wisconsin Blast
1999–2000Black Hills Gold
2000Washington Congressionals
2000–2001Detroit Pistons (assistant)
2001–2005Asheville Altitude (assistant)
2002–2004Adirondack Wildcats
2005–2007Milwaukee Bucks (assistant)
2007–2008Charlotte Bobcats (assistant)
2008–2009Minot SkyRockets
2009–2011Fort Wayne Mad Ants (assistant)
2012–2014Utah Jazz (assistant)
Career highlights
Career NBA statistics
Points5,162 (8.0 ppg)
Rebounds1,927 (3.0 rpg)
Assists880 (1.4 apg)
Stats at NBA.com 
Stats at Basketball Reference 

Michael Anthony Sanders (born May 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who played primarily as a small forward. He was selected by the Kansas City Kings in the fourth round (5th pick) and was the 74th overall pick in the 1982 NBA draft.[1] He is a former assistant coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[2] Prior to being an assistant coach for Tyrone Corbin, Sanders was the team's director of player development.

Playing career

Born in Vidalia, Louisiana, Sanders was selected by the Kansas City Kings with the 74th overall pick of the 1982 NBA draft after the close of his college career at UCLA. Over the course of 11 NBA seasons, Sanders averaged eight points and three rebounds per game. He played for the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers during this time.

Early in his career, Sanders played parts of two seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Montana Golden Nuggets and Sarasota Stingers. He averaged 23.3 points and 8.9 rebounds in 37 career games in the league, earning CBA Rookie of the Year, All-CBA First Team All-Defensive second team honors in 1983.[3][4]

Coaching career

After retiring from the NBA, Sanders became a head coach of the Black Hills Gold in the IBA, the Wisconsin Blast of the IBA and the Adirondack Wildcats of the USBL.[5]

Sanders also served as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Bobcats.[6]

Career playing statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

NBA

Source[1]

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1982–83 San Antonio 26 0 15.1 .484 .000 .721 3.6 .7 .7 .2 7.0
1983–84 Phoenix 50 0 11.7 .478 – .690 2.1 .9 .5 .2 4.5
1984–85 Phoenix 21 11 19.9 .486 – .763 4.2 1.4 1.1 .2 10.2
1985–86 Phoenix 82 5 20.0 .513 .200 .809 3.3 1.8 .9 .4 11.0
1986–87 Phoenix 82* 4 20.2 .494 .118 .781 3.3 1.5 .7 .3 10.5
1987–88 Phoenix 35 5 13.3 .480 .000 .736 1.8 .9 .5 .1 5.8
Cleveland 24 11 17.4 .538 – .870 2.0 1.1 .5 .2 6.8
1988–89 Cleveland 82* 82* 25.6 .453 .300 .719 3.7 1.6 1.1 .4 9.3
1989–90 Indiana 82* 13 18.7 .470 .357 .733 2.8 1.1 .5 .3 6.2
1990–91 Indiana 80 7 17.0 .417 .200 .825 2.3 1.3 .5 .3 5.8
1991–92 Indiana 10 0 8.1 .500 – .833 .8 1.1 .2 .1 2.7
Cleveland 21 20 26.3 .583 .333 .756 4.2 2.0 1.0 .4 9.2
1992–93 Cleveland 53 51 22.4 .497 .250 .756 3.2 1.4 .7 .6 8.6
Career 648 209 19.1 .482 .221 .769 3.0 1.4 .7 .3 8.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1983 San Antonio 6 4.2 .538 – – 1.5 .7 .0 .0 2.3
1984 Phoenix 15 10.1 .478 – .941 1.3 .5 .4 .3 4.0
1985 Phoenix 3 3 30.3 .595 – .800 5.0 3.3 1.7 .0 17.3
1988 Cleveland 5 5 26.8 .538 .000 .800 5.0 1.4 .6 .4 12.8
1989 Cleveland 5 3 17.4 .500 – .600 3.2 .8 .4 .2 6.6
1990 Indiana 3 0 8.0 .455 1.000 – 2.0 .7 .0 .0 3.7
1991 Indiana 5 0 8.2 .600 .500 .500 .8 .8 .8 .4 3.0
1992 Cleveland 17 17 24.6 .487 .333 .810 3.2 2.2 .9 .7 6.0
1993 Cleveland 8 7 18.1 .417 .000 .600 2.3 1.3 1.0 .1 5.8
Career 67 35 16.7 .500 .333 .779 2.5 1.3 .6 .3 6.3

References

  1. ^ a b "Mike Sanders NBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  2. ^ Jazz Promotes Michael Sanders to Assistant Coach; Brad Jones Hired as Assistant Coach/Player Development
  3. ^ "1985–86 CBA Official Guide and Register". Continental Basketball Association. October 1985. p. 247.
  4. ^ "Mike Sanders minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  5. ^ Mike Sanders named first head coach of the Adirondack Wildcats
  6. ^ Dell Curry changes mind, steps down as Bobcats assistant; Mike Sanders replaces him on bench
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