Ryan Cleo Bowen (born November 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 6'9", 218 lb (99 kg) power forward.

Ryan Bowen
Denver Nuggets
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1975-11-20) November 20, 1975 (age 49)
Fort Madison, Iowa, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolFort Madison (Fort Madison, Iowa)
CollegeIowa (1994–1998)
NBA draft1998: 2nd round, 55th overall pick
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Playing career1998–2009
PositionPower forward
Number42, 32, 40
Coaching career2011–present
Career history
As player:
1998–1999Oyak Renault
19992004Denver Nuggets
20042006Houston Rockets
2007Tau Cerámica
2007Ironi Nahariya
20072009New Orleans Hornets
2009Oklahoma City Thunder
As coach:
20112013Denver Nuggets (assistant)
20132015Sacramento Kings (assistant)
2015–presentDenver Nuggets (assistant)
Career highlights and awards

As assistant coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points1,319 (2.6 ppg)
Rebounds1,060 (2.1 rpg)
Assists250 (0.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

College career

edit

Bowen played college basketball at the University of Iowa, where he finished in the top 10 of career blocks and rebounds, and continues to hold the record in career steals.[1] In his senior year at Iowa, Bowen averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.

Professional career

edit

Europe

edit

Bowen was a second-round draft pick of the Denver Nuggets in the 1998 NBA draft, but he played his rookie season at Oyak Renault in the Turkish Basketball League before joining the Nuggets in 1999.[2]

In January 2007, after being released by the Rockets, he was signed by TAU Cerámica to a two-month deal in advance of the Euroleague top 16, in which they had already secured a top seed. The team has the option to extend the contract through the end of the European season.[3] Because of an injury he left Spain and in March 2007, he signed with Ironi Naharia of the Israel Premier League. During his stay with the team, he kept a blog of his experiences in Israel.[4] He was waived in May 2007 by Naharia.[5][6]

Denver Nuggets / Houston Rockets

edit

After his stint on Turkey, he signed with the Nuggets in 1999.[2] and played five seasons there before being picked up by the Houston Rockets. After two seasons with Houston, Bowen was released before the 2006–07 NBA season began.

New Orleans Hornets

edit

In the 2007 NBA offseason, Bowen signed with the New Orleans Hornets as a free agent.

Oklahoma City Thunder

edit

In the 2009 NBA offseason, Bowen was a non-roster invite with the Oklahoma City Thunder and after training camp was offered a one-year contract. He was waived on November 25, 2009.[7]

Post-playing career

edit

Shortly after retiring from the NBA, Ryan returned to Iowa City to become the video coordinator for the University of Iowa shortly after Fran McCaffery took over.[8] After spending a year plus in Iowa City working for the Hawkeyes, Ryan was hired as an assistant coach by the Denver Nuggets in December 2011. On August 21, 2013, Bowen was hired as an assistant coach and assistant director of player development by the Sacramento Kings.[9] In July 2015, Bowen returned to the Denver Nuggets as an assistant following Denver's hire of Michael Malone as the head coach; he worked for Malone in Sacramento. Bowen coached the Denver Nuggets 2022 Summer League team.[10] Bowen won his first NBA championship in 2023 when the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in 5 games.

Off the court

edit

Ryan Bowen has an older brother and an older sister, and has had a daughter and two sons with his wife Wendy.[11] He was awarded the Chopper Travaglini Award for his work in the Denver community,[11] and has established the Ryan Bowen Family Foundation to help sponsor youth athletics, athletic facilities and college scholarships for children in southeastern Iowa and Denver, Colorado.[12] The foundation also sponsors the "Floor Burns" basketball camp, which is held every summer in Iowa.[13]

NBA career statistics

edit
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

Regular season

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999–00 Denver 52 0 11.3 .393 .111 .717 2.2 .4 .8 .3 2.5
2000–01 Denver 57 0 12.2 .556 .364 .614 2.0 .5 .6 .2 3.4
2001–02 Denver 75 21 22.5 .479 .083 .750 4.0 .7 1.0 .5 4.9
2002–03 Denver 62 31 16.1 .492 .286 .659 2.5 .9 1.0 .5 3.6
2003–04 Denver 52 1 7.5 .340 .000 .833 1.7 .3 .3 .3 .9
2004–05 Houston 66 6 9.2 .423 .500 .667 1.2 .3 .3 .1 1.7
2005–06 Houston 68 19 9.6 .298 .136 .786 1.3 .4 .3 .1 1.3
2007–08 New Orleans 53 4 12.5 .490 .000 .552 1.9 .5 .6 .2 2.2
2008–09 New Orleans 21 3 10.4 .579 .000 .600 1.1 .4 .7 .2 2.2
2009–10 Oklahoma City 1 0 8.0 1.000 .000 1.000 2.0 .0 1.0 .0 4.0
Career 507 85 12.8 .456 .206 .693 2.1 .5 .6 .3 2.6

Playoffs

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004 Denver 4 0 1.5 1.000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .5
2005 Houston 7 3 17.9 .320 .000 .667 2.0 .9 .9 .0 2.6
2008 New Orleans 9 0 4.3 .167 .000 1.000 1.6 .2 .1 .0 .4
2009 New Orleans 1 0 2.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 21 3 8.2 .303 .000 .800 1.3 .4 .3 .0 1.1

References

edit
  1. ^ "Iowa Basketball Career Individual Leaders: Career Leaders". Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Ryan Bowen bio". NBA. Archived from the original on December 13, 2006.
  3. ^ "Tau suspends Bowen contract". January 27, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
  4. ^ "Ryan in Israel". Archived from the original on May 26, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
  5. ^ HoopsHype Profile.htm
  6. ^ "Bowen under consideration to start | NOLA.com". Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  7. ^ Thunder waives F Ryan Bowen, roster now at 14. Retrieved on November 25, 2009.
  8. ^ http://www.hawkeyesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/bowen_ryan01.html. Retrieved on October 9, 2011
  9. ^ Kings hire Ryan Bowen as assistant coach and assistant director of player development
  10. ^ "Michael Malone finalizes Denver Nuggets coaching staff". DenverPost.com. July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Ryan Bowen Info Page". NBA.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
  12. ^ "Ryan Bowen Family Foundation". Archived from the original on June 6, 2004. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
  13. ^ "Basketball Camps". Archived from the original on July 21, 2004. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
edit