Former Trail Blazers Veteran Looking to Make NBA Comeback

Will he be able to log his first league action since 2022?

Jan 17, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Detailed view of a Portland Trail Blazers logo warmup jersey before the game against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

One-time former Portland Trail Blazers small forward Tony Snell is looking to make an NBA comeback — for a very specific reason, writes Geoff Grammer of The Albuquerque Journal.

Snell, 32, is looking to play in the league again during the 2024-25 season, which would be his 10th, to help support his family long-term. Although players earn a solid pension plan following just three seasons, benefits for a spouse and children only start after 10 seasons. Snell and his wife Ashley are raising their sons Karter, 3, and Kenzo, 2 in Florida. Both Karter and Kenzo have been diagnosed with autism.

"I didn't make it this far to make it (just) this far," Snell said. "I’m really trying to get that 10th year to take care of my family for life."

After Karter was diagnosed, Snell realized that odds were decent he, too, might be autistic. During an appearance on "The Today Show" in June of last year, the 6-foot-7 swingman informed Craig Melvin of NBC that he was, indeed also diagnosed as being on the spectrum.

“And I’m like, you know what? If (Karter) is diagnosed (with autism), then I think I am, too. That gave me the courage to go get checked out,” Tony said.

“I didn’t know autism,” Ashley told Grammer. “The only thing that I heard about autism was negative things. And so I think for us, when we’re faced with this autism diagnosis, that’s when it was like, ‘Hey, well, when we heard (the word), it was negative.’ So, now that we’re learning about it and it’s not negative, we need to tell the world because if people are thinking like us, what kind of world are we paving for our son?”

Snell played 38 games for the Trail Blazers (10 starts) during the 2021-22 season, averaging 2.6 points on a .371/.320/1.000 slash line, 1.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists. Across 601 career games (310 starts), Snell has averaged 6.1 points while slashing .431/.394/.846, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists.

Snell was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in the deal that sent Larry Nance Jr. and CJ McCollum to New Orleans. Snell has not appeared in an NBA game season. Hoping to make an NBA return, he played for the Maine Celtics (Boston's NBAGL affiliate) in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Last year, in 32 games for Maine (13 starts), Snell averaged just 4.8 points on .384/.366/1.000 shooting splits, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists.

Tony and Ashley Snell have launched the Tony Snell Foundation (TonySnellFoundation.org), with the goal of creating "a facility where testing, therapy, classes and other services for children with autism and their families are available," per Grammer.

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