Ryan Kelly is a professional basketball player. Ryan Kelly presently plays as a power forward for the Sun Rockers Shibuya in the Japanese B. League. Kelly began his professional league career in 2013 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils until 2013, before making his NBA debut. In 2010, he and the Devils won the NCAA title.
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Education, Family, and Childhood
Ryan Kelly was born on April 9, 1991, in Caramel, New York, United States.
His parents, Chris and Doreen Kelly had him as their first child.
In his family, he has a younger brother named Sean and a younger sister named Erin.
Despite being a resident of Caramel, Ryan began his education at the local school.
He transferred to the Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, North Carolina, in the late 1990s.
Doreen, his mother, began teaching in 1999, and all of his siblings afterward attended the same school.
Doreen, his mother, has been the head of school at Ravenscroft since 2003.
Ryan’s parents were sports fans, in addition to being an educated family.
Doreen, his mother, was a former University of Pennsylvania volleyball player.
Similarly, Chris, his father, was a professional basketball player who spent three seasons in the French league.
As a result, he was motivated to participate in athletics from an early age.
Sean, his younger brother, was only two years younger than him, and he enjoyed playing with him.
As a result, they grew up together playing basketball.
Chris, his father, joined in the fun and assisted his young sons in honing their basketball abilities.
Furthermore, he continued to improve as he gained more match experience with the D-One Sports squad in AAU tournaments.
Ryan received all he needed from his parents because he was born into a wealthy family.
Apart from basketball, he was into everything that 90s kids were into at the time, such as video games and watching the iconic American sitcom Seinfeld.
Kelly graduated from high school in 2009 and went on to Duke University to further his education. His younger brother played college basketball for the Devils at the same university.
Age, Weight & Height
As of 2022, Ryan Kelly is 31 years old.
Regarding his physical stats, Ryan stands at a gigantic height of 2.11 meters (6 feet 11 inches) and weighs around 230 lb (104 kg).
Facts of Ryan Kelly
| Full Name | Ryan Matthew Kelly |
| Known As | Ryan Kelly |
| Date of Birth | April 9, 1991 |
| Birth Place | Carmel, New York, the USA |
| Nick Name | Not available |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Aries |
| Age | 31 years old |
| Height | 2.11 m (6 feet 11 inches) |
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Hair Color | Light Brown |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Build | Athletic |
| Father’s Name | Chris Kelly |
| Mother’s Name | Doreen Kelly |
| Siblings | Sean Kelly, Erin Kelly |
| Education |
|
| Marital Status | Married |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Wife’s Name | Lindsay Cowher |
| Kids | Nile Jeremiah, Tess Eden, Ruth Margot |
| Salary | Not available |
| Profession | Basketball player |
| NBA Draft | 2013 / Round: 2 / 48th pick overall |
| Position | Power forward |
| League | B. League (Japan) |
| Active Years | (2013 – Present) |
| Net Worth | $1-$5 million |
| Currently Plays For | Sun Rockers Shibuya |
| Jersey Number | 34 |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
| Merch | Basketball Card |
| Last Update | May 2022 |
Net Worth and Salary History
Ryan Kelly has a net worth of between $1 million and $5 million. The league games are his primary source of income.
He signed a two-year, $1.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after being drafted. The Lakers paid him around $490k for his rookie season alone.
They offered him a considerable sum of $1.65 million for his second season.
Similarly, the Lakers increased his salary to $1.72 million when he appeared in the third season for them.
Then, the Atlanta Hawks acquired him by signing a contract worth around $1 million in 2016, but they released him soon after appearing in six preseason games.
However, he later rejoined them and played nine more 2016-17 season games. Overall, he earned around $713k from his games for the Atlanta Hawks.
Summing up, Ryan accumulated around $4.5 million from his overall NBA career.
Ryan is currently playing for the Sun Rockers Shibuya and earning pretty well. However, he has not revealed his exact earnings to the public.
But seeing his comfortable lifestyle in Japan, one can rest assured that he receives a fair annual salary.
Career in High School
Ryan attended Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, North Carolina, for four years of high school basketball. Kelly started his first season as a power forward, and he was quite excellent at it.
He averaged 14.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game during his sophomore season. Ryan was unsatisfied with his results that season, so he stepped up his game in his final two seasons.
As a result, in his junior and senior seasons, he averaged about 25.0 and 10.0 rebounds per game, respectively. In 2009, he was picked for the McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand All-American games based on his performance.
He was also named one of the top prospects in the country by prominent sports agency Scouts.com.
He graduated from high school with numerous records, including all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
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College Life
Ryan began his college basketball career at Duke University in 2009. As a result, famed college basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski became interested in him and appreciated his style of play right away.
However, because the Duke Blue Devils had Kyle Singler, a competent power forward, he was mostly used as a substitute during his senior year.
As a rookie, he could only manage 1.2 points per game due to his limited playing time.
Kelly’s game improved the next year as he was given more opportunities.
He was named team captain in his final two collegiate seasons after team management saw him as capable of leading the Devils.
Despite significantly stronger results in the previous two seasons, he missed numerous games owing to a foot issue. In his final college seasons, he averaged over 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Career Opportunities
Kelly was chosen 48th overall in the second round of the 2013 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. As a result, on September 20, 2013, Ryan signed a rookie scale contract with the Lakers.
In his debut season, he played in 59 games and averaged 8.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. In addition, the Lakers sent him to play for their affiliate team, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, in the NBA G League.
On July 21, 2014, they re-signed him for another two years after being impressed by his rookie season performance.
Kelly’s performance, however, was dismal, despite the fact that he was given greater playing time in the second season.
He was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for the 2016-17 season after yet another poor season. He only appeared in nine games for the Hawks before joining the NBA G League’s Maine Red Claws.
Leagues from abroad
Kelly signed Real Betis Energia Plus in Spain on September 12, 2017, following a brief stint with the Houston Rockets. Before heading to Japan to play in the B. League, he spent one season in the Liga ACB.
Since 2018, he has been a regular for the Sun Rockers Shibuya of Tokyo in Japan’s top basketball league.
Ryan has played for the United States national team in many international events in addition to his club career.
In 2008, Ryan was a member of the American squad that won the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship.
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Wife & Kids
Ryan Kelly is married to a beautiful lady named Lindsay Cowher. Ryan and Lindsay knew each other in their teens and have been dating each other since their high school days.
After years of dating, they had an engagement in 2013 and married nearly a year later in August 2014. They married each other in a beautiful ceremony organized at Angus Barn Pavilion in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Many of his former Duke teammates, such as Seth Curry, Quinn Cook, Amile Jefferson, etc., were present to bless the newly married couple.
Lindsay was born on December 20, 1990, in Kansas City, Missouri, to her parents, Bill and Kaye Cowher.
Her father, Bill, played professional football league, NFL, for many years and is a former head coach of the NFL club Pittsburgh Steelers.
Like Ryan, she was a basketball player for the Ravenscroft High School team and was its leading performer.
She later played college basketball at the prestigious Princeton University, but she worked as a school teacher after graduation.
Besides that, Lindsay is interested in various stuff such as traveling, music, books, and films.
Furthermore, she is an adept writer. You can go through her blog, MAMAPLAYSMUSIC, to get more insights into their life.
Currently, the couple is blessed with three beautiful children, one son, and two daughters. Their son, Nile Jeremiah, was born in 2014. Similarly, his wife later gave birth to their two cute daughters, Tess Eden and Ruth Margot.
Ryan lives happily with his wife and children in Tokyo, Japan, as he has been playing professional basketball there since 2018.
Social Networking
His Instagram handle is @ryankelly34 and his Twitter handle is @RyanKelly34.
