Ryan Hollins

2.1. High School Career

Hollins attended John Muir High School in Pasadena, California. Initially, he had signed a letter of intent to play at St. Louis University. However, he was granted permission to withdraw this commitment after St. Louis head coach Lorenzo Romar left to take a coaching position at the University of Washington. Following this change, Hollins decided to commit to and enroll at UCLA.

2.2. College Career

Hollins played for the UCLA Bruins for all four years of his collegiate career, consistently playing significant minutes. Over his college career, he maintained averages of 5.5 points and 4 rebounds per game.

He achieved a personal college career-high of 11 points, 11 rebounds, and seven blocks in 34 minutes during a game against the Oregon Ducks on January 30, 2003. He later surpassed this scoring record by netting 21 points in a game against USC on January 28, 2004, though UCLA ultimately lost that game. His strong performance in the 2006 NCAA Tournament led to him being named the Oakland Regional's Most Outstanding Player after he recorded 14 points and 9 rebounds in a 50-45 victory over the Memphis Tigers.

Beyond basketball, Hollins was also a talented high jumper. He successfully cleared 6 in at the Pac-10 championships. In 2003, he placed ninth in the high jump at the NCAA Regionals and sixth at the Pac-10 Championships, demonstrating his versatile athletic abilities.

3.1. NBA Career

Ryan Hollins was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the second round, as the 50th overall pick, of the 2006 NBA draft. He was the 100th player from UCLA to be drafted into the NBA. During his rookie season in 2006-07, he appeared in 27 games, averaging 2.6 points per game.

In the 2008 off-season, the Bobcats extended a qualifying offer to Hollins, making him a restricted free agent. On July 25, 2008, he accepted this offer, remaining with the Bobcats for another year. On January 16, 2009, Hollins was traded to the Dallas Mavericks along with Matt Carroll in exchange for DeSagana Diop. During the 2009 NBA Playoffs, particularly in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs, Hollins was notably assigned to guard star player Tim Duncan, effectively recording three blocks against him.

On August 3, 2009, as a restricted free agent, Hollins signed a three-year, 7.00 M USD offer sheet with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks ultimately decided not to match this offer, allowing Hollins to join the Timberwolves. On July 26, 2010, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside guard Ramon Sessions and a 2013 second-round draft pick, in exchange for Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair. While he played in 70 games during the 2010-11 season, his playing time decreased the following season, appearing in only 24 games, leading to his release by the Cavaliers on March 20, 2012.

Just three days later, on March 23, 2012, Hollins signed with the Boston Celtics. He was primarily brought in to provide size and depth to the Celtics' bench. He played sparingly in 15 regular season games but became a more active contributor in the postseason, appearing in 17 of 20 playoff games. He provided crucial energy and rebounding, especially when rookie Greg Stiemsma encountered foul trouble.

On July 23, 2012, Hollins signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, and subsequently re-signed with the team on July 10, 2013. On September 18, 2014, he signed with the Sacramento Kings.

The 2015-16 season proved to be a particularly dynamic and unusual one for Hollins, even for a player known as a journeyman. On September 28, 2015, he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies, but was waived on October 26 after appearing in seven preseason games. On November 30, he signed with the Washington Wizards, but was waived again on December 23 after only five games. On December 29, he re-signed with the Grizzlies for a second stint, but was waived once more on January 7, 2016, after four games. Displaying remarkable persistence, Hollins signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies for a third time on January 21, 2016, followed by a second 10-day contract on February 1. Finally, on March 2, due to significant injuries on the Grizzlies' roster, including Marc Gasol, he was signed for the remainder of the season. However, on April 7, he was waived by the Grizzlies for the fourth time within the season, marking a rare instance of six contracts (including the two 10-day deals and two full contracts) and four releases with the same team in a single season.

3.2. European Career

After his extensive NBA career, Hollins ventured into European basketball. On December 5, 2016, he signed with Herbalife Gran Canaria for the remainder of the 2016-17 ACB season in Spain. However, his tenure was cut short when he was released by Gran Canaria on March 15, 2017, due to disciplinary reasons. This decision came after he traveled to the United States without the club's permission and against their express wishes.

Just three days after his release from Gran Canaria, Hollins signed with the Italian club Auxilium Torino on March 18, 2017, for the remainder of the 2016-17 LBA season.

3.3. BIG3 Career

Following his time in Europe, Ryan Hollins joined the BIG3 basketball league. In April 2018, he was selected by the Killer 3's as the ninth overall pick in the 2018 BIG3 draft. In 2019, Hollins played the entire BIG3 season with the Aliens. In July 2021, he joined the team 3's Company, which was coached by Michael Cooper. Most recently, on May 25, 2022, Hollins was drafted by the Triplets as the sixth pick in the first round of the 2022 Big3 draft, where he continues to play.

7.1. NBA Regular Season

7.2. NBA Playoffs