Travis Hansen

Travis Mitchell Hansen (born April 15, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted into the NBA by the Atlanta Hawks, played one year for the Hawks and eight years in the Euroleague. Hansen is an entrepreneur and the founder of Tesani, a private equity firm based in Utah where he currently serves as CEO. Hansen is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Early Life and Education

Hansen was born in Provo, Utah to Scott W. Hansen and Laurie Ann Hansen (Mitchell). His mother died from pancreatic cancer in 1997 when Hansen was 18 years old. Hansen graduated from Mountain View High School, where he averaged nearly a triple double, 18.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 7.5 apg and was team captain of the Bruins when they were named Region Champions and Consolation Champions in 1996. Hansen began his college basketball career at Utah Valley State College in his hometown of Orem, Utah, where he averaged 11.2 ppg and 3.6 rpg. and he received the Iron Man award. Hansen went on to serve as a Mormon missionary in Santiago, Chile for two years. One week after returning from his mission, Hansen played in a tournament in California where he drove baseline and broke the backboard. That incident landed him in the Los Angeles Hospital, where he received multiple stitches. After being heavily recruited by Utah, Cal, Indiana, New Mexico, UNLV, Arizona, Arizona St and many other teams he signed for Brigham Young University. Hansen transferred from Utah Valley University to Brigham Young University where he graduated with a BA in Health Science. Both his junior high school, Orem Junior High and his high school, Mountain View High School retired his jersey number #24. Hansen is also the first person to ever be elected into his high school Hall of Fame.

BYU

Hansen played basketball at Brigham Young University for three seasons, from 2000 to 2003. During his tenure with BYU, he was also known as "Elder 8 Mile", for his similar appearance to rapper, Eminem. He was a two-time All-MWC selection, a Defensive Player of the Year, and a two-time All-District selection. He finished with a 44-1 home record (all-time best in BYU history), won 2 MWC championships and was selected with the 8th pick in the 2nd round in the NBA draft. With his selection by the Atlanta Hawks in 2003, he became the first BYU men's basketball player to be drafted since Shawn Bradley in 1993. Hansen was known for his defensive ability, vertical leap, intensity, and outside shooting. His career high at BYU was 30 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists his junior year against Pepperdine.

Professional career

Hansen was voted by ESPN as one of the top five Guards in the NBA draft in 2003. His draft class included players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh. Hansen was drafted by the Hawks in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft, 37th overall.

Atlanta Hawks

He signed a two-year deal with Atlanta following the draft. He played 41 games for them the first season, starting four, averaging 3.0 points per game. He had a stress fracture in his right foot that caused him to miss 40 games. His career high was against Boston; he played 41 minutes, scored 14 points, 6 rebounds and had 4 assists.

Spain: Tau Ceramica

In 2004-05 he crossed the Atlantic to sign for TAU Ceramica, who went on to win the 2005 Super Cup, the 2006 Copa del Rey and back-to-back appearances in the Euroleague Final Four and ACB Finals.. He averaged 10.5 ppg and 3.3 rpg in his last year in Vitoria before heading to Dynamo Moscow. He was voted the favorite player in 2004 by fans in Vitoria, Spain.

Russia: Dynamo Moscow

In 2006, ULEB Cup Champions Dynamo Moscow signed him on a two-year contract. After helping his team reach the Euroleague's Top-16 and averaging 15 ppg, he was placed on the injured list for the rest of the season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon. In 2007, Hansen helped Dynamo take 3rd place in the ULEB Cup and averaged 17.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg while shooting 56.4 FG and 46.3% 3PT.

In February 2008, Hansen extended his contract with Dynamo Moscow for three more years and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree giving Hansen Russian citizenship. In 2008-2009, Hansen, coached by David Blatt, again led Dynamo to the Eurocup final four in Turin, Italy, averaging 16.4 ppg.

Spain: Real Madrid

In July 2009, he returned to Liga ACB, signing a two-year contract with Spanish power Real Madrid. Real Madrid revamped the entire roster signing many of the best players in Europe and also the best coach in Ettore Messina. They reached the top 8 in Euroleague, the Finals in the Supercup, and the Finals of the Copa Del Rey in the Spanish League. In May 2010, during a practice session with Real Madrid, Hansen suffered a herniated disc and had to have a discectomy. Surgery was performed by Howard Reischman in Provo, Utah.

Russia: Khimki

In December 2010 he signed a contract with BC Khimki until the end of the 2010-2011. In April 2011, Travis helped his team BC Khimki win the VTB League Championship by hitting 5 free throws in the last seconds of the game

Russian national team

In March 2008, Hansen received Russian citizenship or a "red passport" to play for the Russian national basketball team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was only the second American player ever to receive a Russian passport. However, he did not actually play for Russia.

Post Basketball Career

In September 2011, Travis retired from professional basketball. He Is Author of “The Next Few Years will Change Your Life”, a book published by Deseret Book released in December 2012.

Hansen’s business and civic achievements include recognition as BYU’s 2015 Young Alumni Distinguished Service Award and honored as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Utah.

In 2013, BYUtv aired a documentary about Travis and his career in a show called "Legends". http://www.byutv.org/watch/b2a0f3c3-a214-4dec-96da-9823b4ae62fe/legends-travis-hansen

Personal life

Travis and his wife LaRee live in Orem, Utah. He is the father of four children, he serves on several community boards and is active in civic and church organizations.

Philanthropy

Sunshine Heroes Foundation

After visiting orphanages in Moscow, Russia, Hansen and his wife LaRee founded the Little Heroes Foundation in 2007. In 2013, Little Heroes Foundation officially changed their name to the Sunshine Heroes Foundation, representing a long term partnership with founding sponsor, Natures Sunshine. Brigham Young University awarded Travis with the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award for his work with Sunshine Heroes. https://www.spreadsunshine.org