For many athletes, reaching the professional level is one of their highest aspirations. Matt Scott has fulfilled such a dream.
After an exceptional five-year collegiate wheelchair basketball career at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Scott established himself as one of the most accomplished players in the sport. During his time with the Warhawks, the Detroit, Michigan, native won the NWBA Collegiate Wheelchair Basketball Championship three times, in 2004, 2005, and 2007. And that was without a role model when he was younger.
“Growing up, all of my sports role models were able-bodied. I had no one like me to look up to,” he told the AmNews.
In 2007, Scott was named to the U.S. roster for the Parapan American Games, and in 2008, he competed as a member of the USA Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Paralympic Team at the Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. Team USA advanced to the bronze medal game but ultimately fell to Great Britain. Although Scott did not come home with a medal, the experience proved to be a turning point in his career: After the Beijing Games, he was nominated for Best Male Athlete at the 2008 ESPY Awards.
After his collegiate career came to a close, Scott embarked on an illustrious professional career overseas. He spent six seasons in Turkey with Galatasaray S.K., two seasons in Italy with Comune di Porto Torres, three seasons in Germany with RSB Thuringia Bulls, and later competed in Spain with CP Mideba.
One of the defining highlights of Scott’s career came in 2016, when he helped lead the USA Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team to its first Paralympic gold medal since 1988, defeating Spain 68–52 at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games. Five years later, Scott added another gold medal to his résumé, helping Team USA defeat host nation Japan in the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games.
“If I could go back to any specific moment in my career, I would definitely go back to Beijing 2008, where we came home empty-handed,” Scott said. “I would have told myself and my teammates that instead of being disappointed that we were only playing in the third-place game, we needed to be focused on coming away with something. Great Britain won that game because they were still hungry. It taught me a big lesson as a professional athlete.”
Now 40 years old and retired from professional competition, Scott lives in the California Bay Area, where he has founded and operates the Fly Without Limits Foundation, a global social impact nonprofit organization based in San Francisco (flywithoutlimits.org). Through the organization, Scott encourages people with disabilities in the United States and abroad to pursue their dreams and become their own barrier breakers. His advocacy has him working with lawmakers on policies that provide socio-economic opportunities to disabled individuals, as well as adaptive sports resources.
Expanding his post-playing career, Scott served as a reporter at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games for NBCUniversal.
“When I think about basketball, I feel empowered,” he said. “It’s a sport that has given so much to me and allowed me to experience some of the biggest moments in my wildest dreams. I forged friendships, gained brothers, and became a mentor for the next generation. I’m proud of how I ended my career, and I’m excited for the next chapters that are ahead [in] my journey.”
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