Derrick LeRon Williams (born May 25, 1991) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Panathinaikos of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

and the EuroLeague. He was selected with the second overall pick by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

in the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting spons ...

. He has played a total of 428 NBA games.

Early life

Williams was born in

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 79,190, up ...

, and graduated from La Mirada High School.

College career

Williams originally committed to play at the University of Southern California. He was quickly recruited by first-year head coach

Sean Miller Sean Edward Miller (born November 17, 1968) is an American college basketball coach who currently serves as head coach of the Xavier Musketeers. He previously was in that position from 2004 to 2009, after which he took the head coach position f ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...

Freshman year

As a freshman in 2009-10, Williams averaged 15.7 points (7th in the Pac-10) and 7.1 rebounds per game, and had a field goal percentage of .575 (2nd in the Pac-10; 12th in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

). He was named a freshman All-American, All-Pac-10 first team and the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.

Sophomore year

Williams rose to national prominence in his sophomore year. He averaged 19.5 points (2nd in the Pac-10) and 8.3 rebounds (4th) per game. During the 2011 season, Williams had a field goal percentage of .595 (tops in the Pac-10; 9th in the NCAA). He led the NCAA in True Shooting percentage (.690) and Effective Field Goal percentage (.650), helping lead the Arizona Wildcats basketball team to a regular season PAC-10 championship. Williams was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Williams also contributed to the Wildcats' run in the

2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 68 teams to determine the national champion of the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 73rd edition of the NCAA tournament bega ...

. He made a critical block with less than 2 seconds against Memphis. He had a 3-point play against the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

, which advanced the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 of the tournament. Williams then had a career-high 32 points along with 13 rebounds to lead Arizona in an upset victory over the #1-seeded

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

by a 16-point margin to advance into the Elite Eight, where they fell 65–63 to the future NCAA tournament champion,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

. At the end of the season he was projected to be one of the top picks for the upcoming NBA draft. Sophomore year honors: * Pac-10 Player of the Year * All-Pac-10 first team * Three time Pac-10 Player of the Week * USBWA District IX Player of the Year * Wooden Award's 10-player All-America team in 2011 * First-team All-American by ''Sports Illustrated'' * Second-team by the Associated Press in 2011. * Second-team by ''Sporting News'' * Second-team by the United States Basketball Writers Association * Second-team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches * Second-team by

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2011–2013)

Williams announced that he would declare for the NBA draft on April 13, 2011. He was selected with the second overall pick by the Timberwolves in the

. During the NBA lockout of 2011, he spent the summer at the University of Arizona taking summer classes to finish his degree. Shortly after the draft, Under Armour signed an endorsement deal with Williams. Williams joined several other NBA players for an exhibition game in the Philippines during the summer of 2011. Williams participated in the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge, as well as the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventi ...

. Williams scored a season-high 27 points on February 28, 2012, in a win over the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. He made 9 of 10 shots from the field and 4 of 4 from three-point range. He led the Timberwolves to victory over the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

with what was then a career-high 28 points on March 17, 2013.

Sacramento Kings (2013–2015)

On November 26, 2013, Williams was traded to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

for forward

Luc Mbah a Moute Luc Richard Mbah a Moute ( ; born 9 September 1986) is a Cameroonian former professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mbah a Moute also plays for the Cameroon national t ...

. He made his debut on November 29, 2013, finishing with 12 points (on 6-for-13 shooting), six rebounds and four assists in a 104–96 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. On December 9, 2013, Williams scored a career-high 31 points in a victory over the Dallas Mavericks. In the Kings' 2014–15 season finale on April 15, Williams scored a season-high 22 points in a 122–109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

New York Knicks (2015–2016)

On July 9, 2015, Williams signed with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. He made his debut for the Knicks in the team's season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 28, scoring a game-high 24 points in a 122–97 win. On January 12, 2016, he recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 120–114 win over the Boston Celtics. The next day, he tied his career-high of 31 points in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Miami Heat (2016–2017)

On July 10, 2016, Williams signed with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

. On February 6, 2017, he was waived by the Heat after appearing in 25 games.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2017)

On February 9, 2017, Williams signed a 10-day contract with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

. That night, Williams played 22 minutes in his debut in Cleveland's 118–109 loss to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

and scored 12 points, going 3-for-3 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line. He went on to sign a second 10-day contract on February 22, and then a rest-of-season contract on March 4. The Cavaliers reached the 2017 NBA Finals, where they were beaten in five games by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

Tianjin Gold Lions (2017–2018)

On December 28, 2017, Williams signed with the

Tianjin Gold Lions The Tianjin Ronggang Pioneers () or Tianjin Ronggang or Tianjin Pioneers are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Tianjin, which plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The Ronggang Import & Export T ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. In 15 games for Tianjin between early January and early February, Williams averaged 20.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Los Angeles Lakers (2018)

On March 9, 2018, Williams signed a 10-day contract with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. After the contract expired, the Lakers decided to part ways with him.

Europe (2018–present)

On October 3, 2018, Williams signed with

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) ( English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL seas ...

(BBL) and the EuroLeague for the 2018–19 season. In the EuroLeague, Williams averaged 13.4 points (9th in the EuroLeague) and 4.2 rebounds over 29 games, and was 9th in the EuroLeague with a .794 free throw percentage. In the BBL, Williams won the championship with Bayern after defeating

Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Merced ...

in the BBL Finals. On July 18, 2019, Fenerbahçe announced that Williams had signed a one-year contract with the Turkish club. On July 8, 2020, Williams signed with

Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spon ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, ...

. On June 30, 2021, Williams signed a one-year contract with

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...

and the EuroLeague. He averaged 9.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. On June 28, 2022, Williams officially parted ways with the Israeli club. On July 15, 2022, Williams signed a one-year contract with Panathinaikos of the

and the EuroLeague.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

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, 78 , , 56 , , 24.6 , , .430 , , .332 , , .706 , , 5.5 , , .6 , , .6 , , .5 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 0 , , 14.7 , , .352 , , .133 , , .875 , , 2.4 , , .1 , , .4 , , .4 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 67 , , 15 , , 24.7 , , .437 , , .286 , , .708 , , 4.4 , , .8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 74 , , 6 , , 19.8 , , .447 , , .314 , , .684 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .5 , , .1 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, 25 , , 11 , , 15.1 , , .394 , , .200 , , .620 , , 2.9 , , .6 , , .4 , , .2 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, 25 , , 0 , , 17.1 , , .505 , , .404 , , .692 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 4.5 , , .250 , , .000 , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 428 , , 112 , , 20.7 , , .434 , , .300 , , .710 , , 4.0 , , .7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.9

Playoffs

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, 8 , , 0 , , 4.8 , , .533 , , .600 , , 1.000 , , .4 , , .5 , , .0 , , .1 , , 2.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 8 , , 0 , , 4.8 , , .533 , , .600 , , 1.000 , , .4 , , .5 , , .0 , , .1 , , 2.6

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 2 , , 26.0 , , .460 , , .333 , , .784 , , 4.2 , , .6 , , .6 , , .5 , , 13.4 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe , 28 , , 20 , , 26.1 , , .487 , , .373 , , .667 , , 3.9 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 11.3 , , 12.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 57 , , 22 , , 26.0 , , .472 , , .354 , , .742 , , 4.0 , , .9 , , .8 , , .4 , , 12.4 , , 12.9

College

References

External links

Arizona Wildcats bio

EuroLeague profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Derrick 1991 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players Basketball players from California Cleveland Cavaliers players FC Bayern Munich basketball players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Lakers players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Miami Heat players Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Minnesota Timberwolves players New York Knicks players Panathinaikos B.C. players People from La Mirada, California Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Kings players Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Valencia Basket players 21st-century African-American sportspeople