CHICAGO (WLS) — From a birth injury to the basketball court, a former player for Joliet’s University of St. Francis with limited use of one arm defied the odds and is now living his dream working for the NBA.
“Your attitude determines your altitude,” Landus Anderson said. “Always had this positive outlook on life.”
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Born with Erb’s palsy, doctors said Anderson would never walk or have any use of his right hand.
“At birth, my shoulders were pretty broad, and some complications occurred due to my broad shoulders,” Anderson said. “I got stuck, and the doctor kind of gave too strong of a tug, and that disconnected nerves from my spinal cord and my right arm.”
Although there was a settlement, Anderson was left with a lifetime of challenges, but it was his mother who changed his perspective at a very early age by learning how to tie her shoe with one hand.
“I love you, Mama. My mom is, yeah, she’s a tough woman,” Anderson said. “Yeah, I can remember as a kid like saying, ‘Mom, I can’t, I can’t tie my shoes.’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, yes, you can. You definitely can, come watch it.’ She taught me at a very young age, you know, not to make excuses.”
Instead, Anderson grew up playing competitive basketball, just like his mom and dad, eventually earning a full scholarship at the University of St. Francis in Joliet.
“I come from a huge basketball family,” Anderson said. “Basketball gave me a lot of character, taught me a lot about life, gave me my network. You know, all the great friends that I have, basketball has been good to me.”
It was a great college career, but the NBA didn’t come calling for the 6’6″ guard. So, Anderson, who was nearly a 4.0 student, went to law school, and he eventually reconnected with the same attorney who represented him at birth. In 1995, he was a little known lawyer named Ben Crump.
“My heart is just full when I talk about Landus Anderson,” Crump said. “I mean, after representing him, when he was first born, and then 23 years later, he comes back as a law student, and he clerks with our law firm. It’s just amazing, his life’s journey.”
“My mom is like, ‘Hey, you should reach out to attorney Crump, who represented you in 1995,’ and I’m nervous,” Anderson said. “I’m like, ‘Attorney Crump, I would love to intern at your firm. I can use the credits for, you know, to graduate. I want to be a lawyer.’ He’s like, ‘Intern at my firm. We would be glad to have you.'”
“Whatever assignment we gave Landus, he didn’t just do it. He went over and above to make sure he was excellent, and I think that’s how he lives his life,” Crump said. “He excels in every task that he endeavors to achieve.”
Anderson earned his law degree, and he made it to the NBA, as an attorney. He serves as Assistant General Counsel for the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I’m super grateful,” Anderson said. “I mean, I can’t make this thing up the way, you know, it worked out and just walked by faith and God made it happen. But, I’ve always been passionate about basketball, passionate about the law. I now have the opportunity to marry them both.”
“[The Trail Blazers don’t know [I can play ball],” Anderson said. We have some hoop sessions here and there with the staff, and you hear some whispers after a couple games where, like, ‘Wow, Landus can really, like, he can really play.'”
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