Donovan Kennedy Williams (born September 6, 2001) 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 (appro ...

player who last played for the

Shanghai Sharks The Shanghai Sharks ( zh, s=上海久事大鲨鱼, t=上海久事大鯊魚, p=Shànghǎi Jǐushì Dàshāyú) are a Chinese Basketball Association team based in Shanghai. The Sharks, who share their colors with the New York Knicks, are best know ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional 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 ...

(CBA). 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

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 ...

and the

UNLV Runnin' Rebels The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are the men's basketball team that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Mountain West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); it plays at the Thomas & Mack Center on campus. As ...

Early life and high school career

Williams grew up in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and attended Elkins High School. He entered college as a four-star prospect and was ranked No. 61 overall in the country by

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

. His team won back-to-back district championships and he was named the district MVP. He was also a two-time first team all-district selection and two-time all-state team member. He averaged 18.2 points per contest while leading Elkins to a 31–8 record and a trip to the Class 6A regional semifinals as a senior. He averaged 13.2 points per game while helping Elkins to a 29–12 mark and a trip to the Class 5A state quarterfinals as a junior.

College career

Williams started his college career at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, and appeared in 26 games, making one start, averaged 11.0 minutes played per contest, averaged 3.3 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. He tallied a career-high 13 points twice during his freshman year and was named to the 2020 Academic All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Rookie Team. He later suffered a left knee injury at Texas Tech and missed the remainder of the season. During his sophomore year, he appeared in 15 games, averaging 10.1 minutes per contest. He scored 3.3 points per game with 1.1 rebounds per game and scored a season-high 11 points vs. Oklahoma. Selected to the 2021 Academic All-Big 12 Second Team. Williams transferred to the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

for his junior year. On June 1, 2022, Williams declared for the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

Professional career

Long Island Nets (2022–2023)

After going undrafted in the

, on October 19, 2022, Williams signed a contract with the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...

. In 18 games for the Nets during the Tip - Off Tournament, Williams averaged 15.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 18 games played. For the regular season, he would only play in 8 games and averaged 15.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He played his final game with the Nets on January 11, 2023.

Atlanta Hawks (2023)

On January 17, 2023, Williams signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, splitting time with their

NBA 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,

College Park Skyhawks The College Park Skyhawks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in College Park, Georgia, and are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. The Skyhawks play their home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park af ...

. He finished the G League regular season with the Skyhawks, playing 24 games with them and averaging 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. The Skyhawks would unfortunately miss the playoffs with a 15 - 17 record (11 - 13 in the 24 games that Williams played). After the G League season, Williams made his NBA debut on April 4, 2023, in a 123–105 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

, recording one rebound. On June 26, he was waived.

Santa Cruz Warriors (2023–2024)

On September 28, 2023, Williams signed with 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 Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, but was waived on October 16. On October 30, he joined the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

. With Santa Cruz, he averaged 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 16 games for the Tip - Off Tournament. For the regular season, Williams would miss two games on February 3 and February 24, but played in the other 32 games of the season and averaged 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.1 minutes per game. The Warriors made the playoffs and would win their first round game against the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American minor-league professional basketball team. They are a member of the NBA G League, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. Before the 2016–17 ...

113 - 111 on April 2. Sadly, the Warriors faltered in the Semifinals on April 4 in a 109 - 112 loss to the

Stockton Kings The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Stockton, California, and are affiliated with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings play their home games at the Adventist Health Arena and compete in the G ...

. In those two playoff games, Williams averaged 9 points and 3.5 rebounds.

Scarborough Shooting Stars (2024)

On May 14, 2024, Williams signed with the

Scarborough Shooting Stars The Scarborough Shooting Stars are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in the eastern ...

of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL; ) is the premier men's professional basketball league in Canada, as recognized by Canada Basketball. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams all owned and operated by owner ...

. In 10 games with the Shooting Stars, Williams averaged 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

Westchester Knicks (2024–2025)

On October 28, 2024, Williams joined the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks play their home games at Westchester County Center in White Plains, N ...

. Williams participated in all 17 games for the team in the Tip - Off Tournament, averaging 15.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. However, he would not stay with the team throughout the entire regular season and only played in 17 of the club's 34 games before leaving to play overseas. In Williams' final game with the Knicks on February 25, 2025, he was the team's leading scorer with 34 points and also recorded 6 rebounds and 6 assists as the Knicks fell to the

Birmingham Squadron The Birmingham Squadron are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Birmingham, Alabama, and are affiliated with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Squadron play their home games at Legacy Arena. The team began play in 20 ...

119 - 126.

Shanghai Sharks (2025)

On February 21, 2025, Williams joined the

of the

(CBA).

Career statistics

NBA

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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College

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Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

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UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

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Personal life

Williams' sister, Kelsey, played in the WNBA.

References

External links

Texas Longhorns bioUNLV Runnin' Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Donovan 2001 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in China American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Houston College Park Skyhawks players Long Island Nets players Santa Cruz Warriors players Scarborough Shooting Stars players Shanghai Sharks players Shooting guards Texas Longhorns men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball players Westchester Knicks players