Matt Scott

Classification: 3.5 

Hometown: Detroit, Michigan

Paralympic Legacy: 5-Time Paralympian (Athens 2004 – Tokyo 2020)

Alma Mater: University of Wisconsin at Whitewater

Matt Scott is a five-time Paralympian in wheelchair basketball for which he has medaled three times, including most recently at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He is a pioneer and champion for not only wheelchair basketball, but for Paralympians and athletes with disabilities as a whole, and he continues to be an outspoken advocate for inclusion and universal participation in sport.

Born with spina bifida, Scott began using a wheelchair from an early age. He pursued his love for the sport by taking up wheelchair basketball at 14 years old. Scott showed early promise and talent and was recruited by the U.S. men’s national wheelchair basketball team directly out of high school.

Matt has competed in every summer Paralympic Games since his high school graduation: Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020. Throughout this two-decade-long Team USA tenure, Scott and the men’s wheelchair basketball team steadily improved, rising from a seventh-place finish in 2004 to a bronze medal win in 2012 and finally the gold medal in 2016. They successfully defend that gold in Tokyo.

Matt’s impact extends beyond the court as well. Scott is a lead-by-example advocate for people with disabilities worldwide. He promotes an active, healthy lifestyle as a Fitbit premium adaptive fitness instructor, serves on the executive committee of the Move United Board of Directors, and is a member of Google’s Team Pixel, a diverse community of influential content creators. Well, known for his work as the first U.S. Paralympian to star in a Nike commercial, he has since appeared in an Apple commercial, was nominated for an ESPY award, and gathered millions of views worldwide displaying his talents with an online presence.

Matt is continuing to support adaptive sports athletes through a variety of community initiatives and supportive programming such as his non-profit, Fly Without Limits.

Career Highlights

• Back-to-Back Paralympic Gold Medalist: Co-captained Team USA Men to historic Gold Medals at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.   
• Five-Time Paralympian: Selected to represent the United States at five consecutive Games, starting his Paralympic journey as a teenager at Athens 2004.   
• Team USA Flag Bearer: Voted by his peers as the U.S. Flag Bearer for the Closing Ceremony at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.   
• Cultural Trailblazer: The first adaptive athlete ever featured in a major national television campaign for Nike, breaking mainstream media barriers for wheelchair basketball.
• Collegiate & European Champion: Won national intercollegiate titles with UW-Whitewater before enjoying an elite professional career across top European leagues.