Back, with nothing to prove
Wheelchair basketball legend Anderson returns afer retiring in 2012
It can be a burden and it can be a blessing to be considered the greatest wheelchair basketball player of all time.
It sets one apart but many expect continued greatness and dominance despite the inexorable march of time and the toll such a history takes on the body. But it’s also something special, something cool, something of which to be tremendously proud.
That is a renewed fact of life these days for Patrick Anderson, the great Canadian who is rekindling his game and his place in the sport at the Tokyo Paralympics. The 42-year-old, now a five-time Paralympian with three gold medals and one silver, is a bit philosophical discussing his place in the game’s lore.
“Some days it puts a little air in my tires and other days it feels more like pressure, expectation,” the Edmonton-born, Fergus, Ont.-raised Anderson said in a telephone interview. “I dunno, I feel kind of free at this point in my career … I don’t feel like I sort of have anything to prove.
“But in my heart, I guess I’ll never be able to shed that, ‘OK, I’m supposed to be that guy.’ (It) depends on the day but … it feels like it’s a big privilege because I’ve been dealing with those expectations for 20 years, it’s really driven me.”
The trite suggestion would be that Anderson came back after retiring following the 2012 London Paralympics to try to reclaim his spot in the sport’s history or to feed some intense competitive drive. It’s a bit more complicated than that, or perhaps more simple. He enjoys his teammates, he sees a chance to help them realize their potential and, at its heart, it’s fun to play.
“I wouldn’t say I missed it in the sense, ‘Oh, I’ve got to get this back,’ ” he said. “It was just an opportunity to just sort of play and just sort of kind of unlock the game with these guys.
“Every team is unique ... quite frankly, the team in Rio just had some incredible young talent — put that together with some of the old guys that I still like hanging out with.”
Anderson has been working on his second passion — music — while away from his sport. He and his wife, Anna Paddock, are The Lay Awakes, an acoustic pop duo based in New York. It may not be as intense as basketball but it’s as gratifying and challenging.
“When I pick up a guitar and play, I just feel like I’m playing the long game again, where the future is kind of open,” he said. “It’s not competitive, I’m not trying to win.
“I don’t have any illusions about trying to be the greatest guitarist in the world or anything like that.
“It’s not better or best, it’s just doing something authentic.”
Whether Canada can recapture its Paralympic glory is very much in question, though. Thanks to COVID-19 and travel restrictions that prevented the team from playing exhibition games, the Canadians arrived in Tokyo ranked No. 18 in the world.
It will be a steep climb to get anywhere near the medal podium after finishing 11th among 12 teams in 2016 in Rio.
“Yeah, feel like we’re in a good place but at the same time it feels like we’re coming in a bit blind because it’s been 500-orsomething days since we played a game,” Anderson said.
“It’s a long time to put your heart and soul into something without some sort of feedback — this is working, this is not working.
“Can you imagine (practiceaverse Allen) Iverson on our team: ‘You talkin’ about two years of practice? No games, just practice.’
“We’re ready for the games.” Anderson’s last Paralympics might have been the best tournament a player has ever had.
He averaged 25 points a game, had two triple-doubles in eight straight Canadian wins and punctuated his performance with a 34-point, 10-rebound, eight-assist gem in the goldmedal win over Australia.
It was a tour de force and, if that had been his last Paralympic game, it would have been a brilliant departure.
‘Look, 2012, before that goldmedal game, I was feeling like ‘Oh, geez, I’m nervous. This is legacy-defining, this is the kind of stuff that makes your hand shake a little bit,’ ” he said. “And then (I) went out there and played one of the best games of my career. That’s pretty satisfying.
“I have to remember that, when you get those pre-game butterflies, it doesn’t determine how well you’re going to play or not, that’s determined by a lot of other things — things you can’t change, work and the prep you’ve put in.
“Just go out there, play free, play for your teammates, and let the result take care of itself. It’s kind of where we’re at here.”
Again.