"Thought he was going to the Jets": NBA fans react after former NFL MVP Matt Ryan's namesake gets signed by Minnesota Timberwolves

Matt Ryan
Fans, intentionally or not, mistook Matt Ryan the NBA player for Matt Ryan the NFL star.

Matt Ryan is staying put with the Minnesota Timberwolves. No, not the former NFL MVP.

Another athlete named Matt Ryan was recently signed to the NBA, staying with the Timberwolves as first reported by The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Ryan, the professional basketball player, signed a two-way deal, which means he will be bouncing between the Timberwolves and their NBA G-League affiliates, the Iowa Wolves, for the upcoming season.

But of course, the funny minds of NBA Twitter would "confuse" him for Ryan the former American football quarterback.

However, someone was literally confused about which Matt Ryan was signed.

Some fans, on the other hand, funnily thought of an idea in which Charania, a known NBA insider, would break Ryan the former NFL MVP moving to the New York Jets following Aaron Rodgers' Achilles injury.

A certain MunchTV said,

"[I] thought he's going to the Jets."

However, Ryan said on Monday that he has no plans to make a playing return and is staying as a studio analyst for CBS.

Ryan, who last played for the Indianapolis Colts, said,

"I've got no interest in doing that right now. I'm enjoying what I'm doing."

Matt Ryan vs. Matt Ryan

For those who still don't know Matt Ryan the basketball player and Matt Ryan the American football star, here is a refresher.

Ryan the NFL star played almost his entire career with the Atlanta Falcons, winning the 2016 MVP award for leading them to the Super Bowl.

However, the 2016-17 Falcons became infamous for blowing a 28-3 lead and losing the NFL Super Bowl to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Since then, Atlanta could not replicate their dream run, and the team's recent struggles prompted them to trade Ryan to the Colts.

With Indianapolis still struggling under him, the team let go of Ryan, and the now 38-year-old quarterback decided to call it a career.

On the other hand, Ryan the basketball player actually has a story of perseverance turned success.

Going undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft and missing a chance to play in the NBA G-League bubble, Ryan became a food delivery app rider before working in a cemetery.

He tried his basketball luck again in the 2021 offseason, and he found himself signing with the Grand Rapids Gold in the NBA G-League after spending training camp with their mother team, the Denver Nuggets.

After an impressive stint with the Gold, the Boston Celtics took notice of Ryan and signed him to a two-way deal that would see him bouncing between them and the Maine Celtics of the G-League.

The Boston Celtics let him go after making the 2022 NBA Finals, and the Los Angeles Lakers took him in.

Ryan's stint with the Lakers, though, did not last long, but the Timberwolves took a chance on him and signed him to a two-way deal.

After an impressive outing that saw him averaging career highs in field goals, threes and free throws despite the limited minutes, Minnesota re-signed him to a new two-way contract.

Quick Links

Edited by Nicolaas Ackermann