Larry Sanders (basketball)

High school career

Sanders was not playing basketball in the ninth grade; the private school he attended did not offer sports. Standing 6'1" when he transferred to Port St. Lucie High School, Kareem Rodriguez, the school's basketball coach, spotted Sanders and saw his potential ability, talking him into playing. Sanders grew to 6'4" after the 10th grade and 6'6" after the 11th grade. Shortly after his growth spurt and subsequent years playing high school basketball, Rodriguez alerted Tony Pujol, a VCU assistant and friend. Sanders sprouted further to 6'9" in his high school senior year. Sanders liked the idea of learning under then VCU head coach Anthony Grant, who previously tutored prominent big men at the University of Florida as an assistant. Sanders began drawing statewide attention when he helped lead Port St. Lucie to the Class 5A state semifinals his junior season. He averaged 18.9 points and 13 rebounds his senior season, leading Port St. Lucie (20–8) to the District 13-5A championship, and was named first team all-state. He committed to the Rams just as some major schools began to show interest.

College career

For his first two seasons for VCU, Sanders played 2nd star to guard Eric Maynor. He excelled in that role, utilizing his size and athleticism to disrupt teams defensively. As a sophomore, he helped the Rams into the 2009 NCAA Tournament against the UCLA Bruins, but lost 65–64 in the first round of the tournament. Sanders went on to have a more prominent role in his junior season after Maynor was drafted into the NBA. As a junior Sanders averaged 14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks, with 53% field-goal accuracy, all statistical team highs, on his way to earning the second of his consecutive CAA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2008–09 and 2009–10.

Larry Sanders announced in April 2010 after his junior year that he was departing VCU early to enter the NBA Draft.

Milwaukee Bucks (2010–2015)

Sanders was chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 15th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. On July 8, 2010, he signed a multi-year, rookie scaled contract with the Bucks. On February 20, 2011, he was assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League. On February 26, 2011, he was recalled by the Bucks.

On November 30, 2012, he recorded his first career triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks in a loss to Minnesota. He finished the season second in blocks per game behind Serge Ibaka. Sanders also finished third in voting for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, after Paul George and Greivis Vásquez.

On August 20, 2013, Sanders signed a four-year, $44 million contract extension with the Bucks.

In December 2013, Sanders was sidelined for 25 games after sustaining a torn ligament in his thumb in a night club altercation. Sanders was fined for the two municipal citations of disorderly conduct and assault and battery charges, but police did not pursue further criminal charges.

On March 20, 2014, it was announced that Sanders would miss the rest of the 2013–14 season due to a fractured right orbital bone.

On April 4, 2014, Sanders was given a five-game suspension for violating the NBA's drug policy after testing positive for marijuana. Sanders again violated the NBA's drug policy during the 2014–15 season and was subsequently suspended without pay for a minimum of ten games on January 16, 2015.

Walking away from the NBA

In December 2014, Sanders was placed on Bucks' inactive roster due to personal reasons. After a seven-game absence, Sanders appeared on the Bucks' bench on January 7, 2015 against the Phoenix Suns, but did not suit up. Rumors emerged that Sanders wanted to leave the sport, all of which were denied by his agent.

It was announced on February 21, 2015, following his second suspension for marijuana use, that the Bucks were buying out Sanders' contract. On February 25, a video of Sanders was released where he explained that he entered into a program at Rogers Memorial Hospital for anxiety, depression and mood disorders. He said that the program led him to realize "what's important, and where I would want to devote my time and energy" and that ultimately he realized that "for [basketball] to be consuming so much of my life and time right now ... it's not there for me. It's not that worth it." He did, however, claim to still love the game and that "if I get to a point where I feel I'm capable of playing basketball again, then I will."

On January 26, 2017, Sanders announced his decision to return to basketball.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2017)

On March 13, 2017, Sanders signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He made his debut for the Cavaliers the following night in a 128–98 win over the Detroit Pistons. He played the final 1:58 and missed his only shot attempt while recording two fouls. On April 12, 2017, he was waived by the Cavaliers after appearing in five games. During his stint with Cleveland, he had multiple assignments with the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League. He reportedly struggled keeping up with responsibilities on and off the court, in addition to struggling with punctuality.