| Denver Nuggets | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1975-11-20)November 20, 1975 (age 49) Fort Madison, Iowa, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Fort Madison (Fort Madison, Iowa) |
| College | Iowa (1994–1998) |
| NBA draft | 1998: 2nd round, 55th overall pick |
| Selected by theDenver Nuggets | |
| Playing career | 1998–2009 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 42, 32, 40 |
| Coaching career | 2011–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1998–1999 | Oyak Renault |
| 1999–2004 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2004–2006 | Houston Rockets |
| 2007 | Tau Cerámica |
| 2007 | Ironi Nahariya |
| 2007–2009 | New Orleans Hornets |
| 2009 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| As coach: | |
| 2011–2013 | Denver Nuggets (assistant) |
| 2013–2015 | Sacramento Kings (assistant) |
| 2015–present | Denver Nuggets (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As assistant coach: | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 1,319 (2.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,060 (2.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 250 (0.5 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Ryan Cleo Bowen (born November 20, 1975) is an American former professionalbasketball player who is currently an assistant coach for theDenver Nuggets of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 6'9", 218 lb (99 kg)power forward.
Bowen playedcollege basketball at theUniversity 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.
Bowen was a second-round draft pick of theDenver Nuggets in the1998 NBA draft, but he played his rookie season atOyak Renault in theTurkish 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 theEuroleague 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 theIsrael 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]
After his stint on Turkey, he signed with the Nuggets in 1999.[2] and played five seasons there before being picked up by theHouston Rockets. After two seasons with Houston, Bowen was released before the2006–07 NBA season began.
In the 2007 NBA offseason, Bowen signed with theNew Orleans Hornets as afree agent.
In the 2009 NBA offseason, Bowen was a non-roster invite with theOklahoma City Thunder and after training camp was offered a one-year contract. He was waived on November 25, 2009.[7]
Shortly after retiring from the NBA, Ryan returned to Iowa City to become the video coordinator for theUniversity of Iowa shortly afterFran 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 theSacramento Kings.[9] In July 2015, Bowen returned to the Denver Nuggets as an assistant following Denver's hire ofMichael 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 in2023 when the Nuggets defeated theMiami Heat in 5 games.
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]
| 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 |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |