Christopher Anthony Williams (July 9, 1980 – March 15, 2017) was 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 (appro ...

player. He was a

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

College career

Williams played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, with the Virginia Cavaliers. He was named the ACC Rookie of the Year in 1999. He was also named Second Team All-ACC in 2000, and Third Team All-ACC in 1999 and 2001. He had the nickname "Big Smooth".

Professional career

Williams led the 2004–05 EuroLeague in steals, with 2.8 per game, while playing with the Frankfurt Skyliners. He won the Germany BBL

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

with Frankfurt, in 2004. From 2005 to 2007, he played in South Korea's KBL, with Ulsan Mobis Phoebus. He also played with Qingdao DoubleStar in China's CBA, and with Mahram Tehran in Iran's Basketball Super League. Prior to playing in the EuroLeague, Williams played as an import for the Sydney Kings in Australia's NBL. With the Kings, he was a leading scorer, he shot at a high percentage, and he was a top rated rebounder, which were key components to the Kings winning their first ever NBL championship. He was awarded the MVP of the league, and the MVP of the league's final. In a game between

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

and Dongguan Leopards, on December 25, 2009, Williams produced the second ever

Quadruple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: point (basketball), points, rebound (basketball), rebounds, assist (basketball), assist ...

in CBA history, as he finished the game with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, and 11 steals. Qingdao won the game 122–103. On October 10, 2013, Williams was named to the Sydney Kings' 25th Anniversary Team.

Personal

Williams died on March 15, 2017, due to blood clots in his heart.

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileCollege statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Chris 1980 births 2017 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Iran American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama Foolad Mahan Isfahan BC players Goyang Sono Skygunners players Korean Basketball League players Mahram Tehran BC players People from Adamsville, Alabama Sportspeople from Jefferson County, Alabama Philippine Basketball Association imports Qingdao Eagles players San Miguel Beermen players Skyliners Frankfurt players Small forwards Sydney Kings players Türk Telekom B.K. players Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus players Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Iranian Basketball Super League players