NBA Draft

Why Texas Tech's Christian Anderson Could Continue to Rise Up Draft Boards

The Red Raiders have a few potential draft picks on the roster, but one of the team's young guards could make a big leap up draft boards this season.
Randall Sweet|
Mar 29, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Christian Anderson (4) drives to the hoop during the first half against the Florida Gators during the West Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Chase Center.
Mar 29, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Christian Anderson (4) drives to the hoop during the first half against the Florida Gators during the West Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Chase Center. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

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Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson recieved plenty of recognition this summer.

Alongside a number of other college basketball players and NBA stars, Anderson competed in the FIBA U19 World Cup, leading Team Germany to the championship game against Team USA. There, Anderson and Germany fell to a star-studded American roster that featured potential top picks AJ Dybantsa, Koa Peat, Mikel Brown Jr., Nikolas Khamenia and Tyran Stokes, among others.

In that contest, Anderson logged 18 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals. The German guard averaged 17.3 points, 6.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds throughout the tournament, shooting 42.9% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc.

After gaining the attention of NBA scouts with an impressive performance on the international stage, Anderson heads back to Texas Tech for his sophomore season.

In his first year with the Red Raiders, the 19-year-old earned Big 12 All-Freshman honors, averaging 10.6 points, 3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 42.9% from the field and 38% from 3-point range on more than five attempts per game.

Alongside JT Toppin, who could be a first round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and LeJuan Watts, who transferred to Texas Tech from Washignton State over the offseason, Anderson should be in for an even bigger year in 2025-26.

Under head coach Grant McCasland, the Red Raiders reached the Elite 8 in 2025, and should be in the mix to make another deep run during the upcoming campaign. If Texas Tech does reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament once again, it would put even more attention on the talented guard and could boost Toppin and Anderson's draft stock even higher.

Hailing from Oak Hill Academy, the sam program that produced Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhous and Rod Strickland, Anderson was a four-star recruit, rated the No. 113 overall prospect and No. 10 point guard in the 2024 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.

Since then, Anderson has developed into one of the top sophomore guards in college basketball, and has the chance to be selected in the 2026 NBA Draft with another strong season.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 165 pounds, Anderson has reportedly grown over the summmer, which could also be a massive boost to his draft stock. Christian Anderson Sr., Anderson's father, recently claimed in a social media post that his son has grown to 6-foot-3, and now weighs 178 pounds.

While a potential trip to the NBA Combine if Anderson declares for the draft would verify the young guard's size, adding muscle should help prepare the sophomore for the coming season, and the next level.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall Sweet is a 2022 Oklahoma University graduate who has formerly written for the Norman Transcript and OU Daily. Randall also serves as the Communications Coordinator at Visit OKC.

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