Derek Xavier Willis (born June 21, 1995) is an American

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 for

Paris Basketball Paris Basketball is a French professional basketball club based in Paris. The club currently plays in the LNB Élite, the first division of basketball in France, and the EuroLeague since 2024–25. Founded in 2018, Paris plays its home games a ...

of the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He 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 ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

Early life

Willis is one of a relatively small number of

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

who have played in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

basketball. His mother is a member of three tribes—

Southern Arapaho The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma. History The Cheyennes and Arapahos are two distinct tribes with distinct histories. The Cheyenne (Ts ...

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

, and

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

. Although born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, he lived with his family for several years during his childhood on the

Wind River Indian Reservation The Wind River Indian Reservation, in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, is shared by two Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes, the Eastern Shoshone (, ''meaning: "buffalo eaters"'') and the Norther ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. According to

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

writer Reid Forgrave, "His favorite childhood memories are from that reservation." The family eventually returned to the Louisville area, settling in the city of

Mount Washington Mount Washington is an ultra-prominent mountain in the state of New Hampshire. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorio ...

High school career

As a , senior at

Bullitt East High School Bullitt East High School is a high school located at 11450 Highway 44 East in the city of Mount Washington, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Bullitt County Public Schools district. Sports teams include: archery, swimming, football, socc ...

, Willis averaged 17.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

College career

Willis was the first player to commit to Kentucky's 2013–14 recruiting class, choosing UK over

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

and

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

. He appeared in 103 games over his four-year career with the Wildcats, turning in averages of 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest, while making 108 of his 271 shots taken from three-point territory in his college career. Willis won the SEC tournament with the Wildcats in 2015, 2016 and 2017, advancing to the NCAA Final Four in 2015. He proposed to his girlfriend on senior night, prior to Kentucky's home game against Vanderbilt. In April 2017, he attended the

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-Draft (sports), draft camps, the other being the Orlando pre-Draft (sport ...

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

Professional career

Grand Rapids Drive (2017–2018)

After going undrafted, Willis was signed by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

as a part of their training camp roster, before being reassigned to the Pistons'

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anahe ...

. In his professional debut on November 3, 2017, he provided the game-winning tip-in in Grand Rapids' 86–85 victory over the Erie BayHawks. Making 43 G League appearances (38 starts) as a first-year player, Willis averaged 11.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest.

BG Göttingen (2018–2019)

In late July 2018, Willis inked a deal with

BG Göttingen Basketballgemeinschaft Göttingen () is a German basketball club based in Göttingen, Germany. In 2010, the club won the EuroChallenge against Krasnye Krylya Samara from Russia. The team plays in Germany's second division, the ProA. History Once ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

. He saw action in 34 Bundesliga games, averaging 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest for the Violets.

Ratiopharm Ulm (2019–2020)

On July 22, 2019, he signed a two-year deal with German Bundesliga outfit

Ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the major German professional league an ...

, known as the Sparrows. Willis averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game during the 2019–20 season.

Happy Casa Brindisi (2020–2021)

On July 17, 2020, he signed with

Happy Casa Brindisi New Basket Brindisi, for sponsorship reasons named Valtur Brindisi or shortly Brindisi, is a professional Italian basketball based in Brindisi, Apulia. They compete in Serie A2, second level of Italian basketball system. Founded in 2004, the we ...

of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

(LBA).

Club Joventut Badalona (2021–2022)

On July 14, 2021, Willis signed with

Club Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two team ...

of the

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

Reyer Venezia (2022–2023)

On July 13, 2022, Willis signed with

Reyer Venezia S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the highest tier of basketball i ...

of the Lega Basket Serie A. He averaged 12.9 points and 5 rebounds in the EuroCup, along with 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in the domestic league.

Anadolu Efes (2023–2025)

On June 25, 2023, Willis signed a two-year (1+1) contract with Turkish powerhouse

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü, commonly referred to as Anadolu Efes or simply Efes, is a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul. Founded in 1976, the club was formerly known as Efes Pilsen until 2011. Efes is the 2021–22 EuroLeagu ...

Paris Basketball (2023–2025)

On July 4, 2025, he signed with

of the

International career

Willis was a member of the US team that competed at the 2012

Albert Schweitzer Tournament The DBB Albert Schweitzer Tournament (, abbreviated as AST), full name DBB Albert Schweitzer World Under-18 Tournament (), is an international basketball competition that is played between national teams of the Under-18 men's age category. It t ...

. In February 2018, he was named to the USA squad for the 2019 World Cup qualifiers.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 12 , , 23.0 , , .475 , , .444 , , .944 , , 3.7 , , .8 , , .6 , , .3 , , 7.3 , , 9.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 26 , , 12 , , 23.0 , , .475 , , .444 , , .944 , , 3.7 , , .8 , , .6 , , .3 , , 7.3 , , 9.0

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the major German professional league an ...

, 9 , , 7 , , 22.1 , , .531 , , .571 , , .909 , , 5.4 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .6 , , 10.4 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

Badalona Badalona (, , , ) is a municipality in Barcelonès county, in Catalonia (Spain). It is located to the north east of Barcelona, on the left bank of the Besòs River and on the Mediterranean Sea, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. By population, ...

, 17 , , 13 , , 23.1 , , .532 , , .417 , , .667 , , 5.6 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .4 , , 9.0 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 18 , , 25.2 , , .546 , , .475 , , .907 , , 5.0 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .1 , , 12.9 , , 15.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 45 , , 38 , , 23.8 , , .538 , , .480 , , .821 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 11.0 , , 13.8

Basketball Champions League

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

, 10 , , 10 , , 24.1 , , .567 , , .476 , , .862 , , 5.3 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , , , 10.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 10 , , 10 , , 24.1 , , .567 , , .476 , , .862 , , 5.3 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , , , 10.3

Domestic leagues

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , , style="text-align:left;",

Grand Rapids Gold The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...

, , style="text-align:center;",

, , 43 , , 28.1 , , .469 , , .376 , , .816 , , 6.8 , , .8 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;",

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, , style="text-align:center;", BBL , , 34 , , 23.8 , , .486 , , .425 , , .806 , , 5.0 , , .6 , , .8 , , .7 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", BBL , , 28 , , 19.0 , , .453 , , .375 , , .809 , , 5.2 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .6 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", LBA , , 31 , , 28.3 , , .490 , , .347 , , .811 , , 8.3 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , .6 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;",

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two team ...

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 40 , , 23.2 , , .523 , , .439 , , .879 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .5 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", LBA , , 34 , , 24.5 , , .514 , , .455 , , .871 , , 5.2 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .3 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 25 , , 25.4 , , .578 , , .432 , , .946 , , 4.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 10.4

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 2.8 , , .333 , , .167 , , .750 , , .6 , , , , .1 , , , , 1.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 0 , , 3.9 , , .389 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , .7 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 11 , , 18.6 , , .482 , , .442 , , .889 , , 4.0 , , .4 , , .7 , , .8 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 38 , , 15 , , 21.9 , , .478 , , .377 , , .688 , , 5.4 , , .9 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , 7.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 103 , , 26 , , 15.0 , , .473 , , .399 , , .802 , , 3.4 , , .5 , , .5 , , .6 , , 5.4

References

External links

Profile at eurobasket.com

Derek Willis
at

Turkish Basketball Federation The Turkish Basketball Federation () is the national federation for basketball in Turkey. It is headquartered in Istanbul. They organize the Basketball Super League, Women's Basketball Super League the Turkish Basketball Cup and the Turkish Bask ...

Kentucky Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Derek 1995 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Anadolu Efes S.K. players Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky BG Göttingen players Forwards (basketball) Grand Rapids Drive players Joventut Badalona players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Lega Basket Serie A players Native American basketball players New Basket Brindisi players Power forwards Ratiopharm Ulm players Reyer Venezia players United States men's national basketball team players