Ex-Celtics guard Matt Ryan hits buzzer-beating 3-pointer for Lakers vs. Pelicans

Former Celtics guard and fan favorite Matt Ryan keeps adding to his NBA story — and this time, put another buzzer-beater to the highlight reel. With the Lakers down three points with 1.3 seconds left in Wednesday’s game against the Pelicans, Ryan nailed a buzzer-beating, corner 3-pointer to send the game to overtime. Los Angeles went on to beat the Pelicans in overtime 120-117 after Ryan’s huge shot.

Of course, Ryan’s story has been well-chronicled. Ryan told MassLive that he was driving DoorDash orders in 2021 while working at a cemetery as he was trying to make a few bucks before starting his professional basketball career. Ryan said he thought he was going to go play overseas, but stuck it out in the G-League before signing a two-way contract with the Celtics midway through the season. That led to the Finals run as Ryan said he was soaking in every moment.

Ryan continued his hot-shooting ways with the Celtics in Summer League, where he knocked down an improbable 3-pointer to help lift the C’s over the Bucks. That’s when Ryan got emotional when talking about his NBA journey and how far he had come.

While the Celtics didn’t bring in Ryan to training camp considering they had too many guards on the roster, he still found his way into the league with the Lakers. Ryan has actually been playing minutes here and there for Los Angeles as the Lakers improved to 2-5 after dropping their first five games of the season. Ryan will look to keep adding to his improbable tale as he sticks around in the NBA.

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