A Deep Dive Into the Life of NBA Veteran Tony Snell

Tony Snell is an NBA veteran who visited Vistamar in 2023 with the Maine Celtics, an NBA G League team. G League Ignite is a program dedicated to giving not-yet draft-eligible 17 and 18-year-old basketball players a path outside of college to become professionals and step into the NBA. Snell played with 9 NBA teams and helped multiple of those teams to the NBA playoffs. 

Tony Snell is the only NBA player in history to shoot 50% from the field, 50% of three-pointer attempts, and 100% on free throw line shots in a season with a minimum of 100 minutes played. Snell’s efficiency on the court and successful three-point shooting was, and still is, remarkable both in the NBA and in the G-League. While Snell’s on-court career was impressive, it’s his presence off the court that is truly unprecedented and admirable.

Tony Snell was born in the Watts area of South-Central Los Angeles, where he grew up playing basketball. During his sophomore and junior years at the University of New Mexico, he helped lead the Lobos to the Mountain West Conference tournament championships and the NCAA tournament bids. However, something was always off for Snell. In an interview with The Today Show on ESPN, Snell mentioned how he always had trouble connecting with people personally. In this interview, Tony Snell reveals what it was like to be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of 31 and the profound relief that came with it. 

From 2013 to 2016, Tony Snell played with the Chicago Bulls alongside NBA Star Jimmy Butler. During his time with the Bulls, Jimmy Butler invited Snell to a family barbeque, where he bonded with his future wife, Ashley, over their mutual interest in wine. Snell and his wife went on to have two kids. At 18 months old, Karter Snell, their first son, was developmentally behind other kids his age. This led his parents to test him for autism. Once his son was officially diagnosed, Tony Snell began to realize he had similar tendencies to his son. Snell says that his son’s diagnosis gave him the courage to get himself checked out.

Snell’s autism diagnosis brought a lot of clarity to his life and previous social struggles. He said it was like “putting 3D glasses on,” as it explained his challenges to him. Although he was happy about such a discovery, Snell also reflected on the impact an autism diagnosis might have had on his life growing up, saying he may not have pursued or made the NBA had he known about his diagnosis when he was young. The idea that Snell may have accomplished less if he knew he was on the spectrum reveals how society treats people with autism as less capable than neurotypical people.

Awareness and support for the autistic community is extremely important. Following his diagnosis, Snell became a large advocate for differently-abled people, especially in sports. He partnered with the Special Olympics in an attempt to uplift disabled communities and started his own foundation with his wife to increase awareness about minorities who are on the spectrum called the Tony Snell Foundation. Snell says he wants to dedicate as much as he can to supporting his son and people like him as a way of saying “I’m right here with you” to his child. 

Snell’s perseverance is a clear demonstration of how wrong society is about people with autism. It is heart-warming to see how Snell is using his own personal success to advocate for his son and the well-being of disabled people. Snell is currently still on the Maine Celtics and has expressed a desire to return to the NBA from the G-League in order to continue to support the Tony Snell Foundation and set an example for his children. Many people hope to see Tony Snell on an NBA roster soon, but his impact off the court is admirable and significant regardless of his professional status.

Photo Credit: People Magazine, China Wong/NBAE