Former Lakers Sharpshooter Signs With Eastern Conference Squad

Ricardo Sandoval | Nov 4, 2024

Nov 2, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Ryan (37) reacts with guard Austin Reaves (15) and guard Patrick Beverley (21) after scoring a three point basket to send the game into overtime during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Former Lakers sharpshooting wing Matt Ryan has found a new squad for the 2024-25 season.

Ryan has signed with the New York Knicks.

ESPN's Shams Charania shared the news via Twitter/X.

The New York Knicks are signing shooter Matt Ryan to a deal this week, sources tell ESPN. The 6-foot-7 wing shot 45.1% from three-point range last season for the Pelicans. https://t.co/SftRpsVMEW

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 4, 2024

Charania reported a handful of weeks ago that the Knicks were focused on getting a shooter on their team, and they accomplished that.

Ryan is a career 41 percent shooter and is now with his fifth team in his NBA career. In late October, he joined the Westchester Knicks, the Knicks G League affiliate, after being selected first overall in the 2024 NBA G League draft.

Ryan played in 12 games with the purple and gold during the 2022-23 season. He averaged 3.9 points per game, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 10.8 minutes, while shooting 30.6 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three. The highlight of his season came early in the season when he hit a corner three to tie the game at the regulation buzzer against the Pelicans, giving the Lakers the win in overtime, 120-117.

Ryan spent the 2023-24 season with the Pelicans, where he averaged 5.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists while shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from three. The 27-year-old played 28 games for the Pelicans after he was claimed off waivers and subsequently signed to a two-way contract.

After the season, the Pelicans signed Ryan to a standard contract in April 2024.

The 27-year-old New York native has had his ups and downs in the NBA. He started his college career at Notre Dame before transferring to Vanderbilt, where he averaged 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. After Ryan's sophomore season at Vanderbilt, he transferred to Chattanooga, where he averaged 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 30.6 minutes per game in 33 games.

Ryan went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, and after the COVID-19 pandemic limited his prospects, he did not land a spot in the G League's bubble in 2020-21.

Ultimately, Ryan resorted to working for DoorDash and UberEats while coaching a grassroots basketball team. Ryan also worked at a cemetery in Yonkers, New York, before he got his first shot with the Cavaliers during the 2021 NBA Summer League. In Feb. 2022, he signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics and averaged 20.4 points in 14 games for the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics G League affiliate in the 2021-22 G League season.

Ryan has played for the Celtics, Lakers, Timberwolves, Pelicans, and now the Knicks.

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