Jawad Hason Williams (born February 19, 1983) is an American former 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 currently serves as an assistant coach for 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

of the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

(NBA). He plays as 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 ...

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

. He played high school basketball at St. Edward High School of

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. The popula ...

(suburban

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

) and

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

University of North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North ...

Early life

While at St. Edward, Williams played limited time as a freshman on a team anchored by Sam Clancy, Jr. and Steve Logan that went on to win the

OHSAA The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of comp ...

state title. During his later years in high school, he was named first team All-Ohio and named to numerous All-American teams. He was named AP and

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

for Ohio and played in the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

Collegiate career

Williams played collegiate basketball under coaches Matt Doherty and Roy Williams at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. He started as a senior for the Tar Heel team that won the 2005 NCAA tournament. Williams averaged 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in his senior season. He graduated from UNC in 2005 with a B.A. in

African-American studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

Professional career

Jawad Williams shooting over Mike Bibby cropped

Williams was not selected in the

2005 NBA draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fro ...

. However, he was signed as a free agent by the

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

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 ...

during the 2006–07 season. He appeared in four preseason games for the Clippers, starting one, but did not make the final roster. After playing in Spain, Japan and Israel, Williams joined the

' summer league team in July, 2008 and made the team's training camp roster. On October 23, the Cavs waived veteran guard Ronald Dupree, and Williams became a full-fledged member of an NBA team for the first time in his career. His contract was nonguaranteed until January 10, 2009, after which time the contract would have been guaranteed. Williams played in his first regular season NBA game and scored his first points on December 12, 2008, against the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. Williams became the sixth member of North Carolina's 2005 National Championship team to play in the NBA, joining

Rashad McCants Rashad Dion McCants (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as overseas. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels ...

Sean May Sean Gregory May (born April 4, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina. May was born in Chicago, Illinois ...

, Raymond Felton,

Marvin Williams Marvin Gaye Williams Jr. (born June 19, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one season of college basketball for North Carolina before being drafted second overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2005 NBA draft. H ...

, and David Noel. Williams was waived by the Cavs on January 7, 2009. Five days after being released from the Cavs he re-signed with the team with a 10-day contract. He was released on February 2 after his second 10-day contract expired. He then joined the D-League with

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won f ...

on February 14. On April 8, he was re-signed to a contract for the rest of the season. Jawad Williams Paris-Levallois action

On February 9, 2010, Williams put up a career high in points with 17 to go along with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal in 28 minutes of play. In the 2010 offseason, Jawad signed to play with the Cavs for the

2010–11 NBA season The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Chicago's Derrick Rose was named the 2010–11 NBA MVP. Th ...

. On December 27, 2010, Williams was again waived by the Cavs. In February 2011, he signed with Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel. For the 2011–12 season, Williams signed with

Paris-Levallois Basket Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball. The club was established in 2007 ...

in France, rejoining college teammate David Noel. Williams stayed with Paris-Levallois for the 2012–13 season, but while Noel left Williams was joined by former college teammate

. Paris-Levallois waived him on January 15, 2014. In February 2014, he signed with

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While th ...

of Turkey for the rest of the 2013–14 season. On June 13, 2016, Williams signed with

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

in Greece for the 2016–17 season. On February 12, 2017, he parted ways with AEK. The next day, he signed with Italian club

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also simply known as Reggiana or Reggio Emilia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Unahotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as ...

for the rest of the season. In July 2017, Williams signed with Alvark Tokyo of the Japanese B.League. On June 1, 2022, he has announced his retirement from professional basketball. Williams is now coaching in Japan for Nagasaki Velca. He serves as their first Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development.

Coaching career

In July 2022, Williams joined Nagasaki Velca of the Japanese B. League, as an assistant coach and director of player development. On September 9, 2024, Williams was hired as an assistant coach and director of player development for 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

of the

. On May 3, 2025, it was announced that Williams would be parting ways with the Kings. On June 18, 2025 Williams joined the

as an assistant coach under head coach

Kenny Atkinson Kenneth Neil Atkinson (born June 2, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was previously the head coach of the Broo ...

College statistics

NBA career statistics

Regular season

:(''Correct as of 2010–11 season'') , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .417 , , .333 , , .000 , , .2 , , .0 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 54 , , 6 , , 13.7 , , .393 , , .323 , , .711 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , 4.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 1 , , 15.0 , , .325 , , .289 , , .750 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 90 , , 7 , , 12.8 , , .369 , , .313 , , .719 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.8

Playoffs

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

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

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

, 3 , , 0 , , 1.3 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 3 , , 0 , , 1.3 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0

Career statistics

Domestic Leagues

Regular season

, - , 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, align=center , JBL , 35 , , 38.8 , , .434 , , .293 , , .799 , , 7.1 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 24.7 , - , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 25 , , 22.4 , , .455 , , .442 , , .909 , , 3.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 8.9 , - , 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", A Tokyo , align=center , B.League , 59 , , 19.8 , , .436 , , .369 , , .816 , , 3.5 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 9.0

References

External links

*
EuroCup profileEurobasket.com profileSpanish League profileGreek League profile

Greek League profile

TBLStat.net profileFrench LNB profile

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jawad 1983 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen AEK B.C. players Alvark Tokyo players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Anaheim Arsenal players Baloncesto Fuenlabrada players Basketball players from Cleveland Cleveland Cavaliers players Fayetteville Patriots players Gaziantep Basketbol players Hapoel Galil Elyon players Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Karşıyaka basketball players Koshigaya Alphas players Levanga Hokkaido players Liga ACB players McDonald's High School All-Americans Metropolitans 92 players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Small forwards Sportspeople from Greater Cleveland St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio) alumni Undrafted NBA players Utsunomiya Brex players