Lou Williams

For other people named Louis Williams, see Louis Williams (disambiguation).
Lou Williams

Williams with the 76ers in 2010
No. 23 – Los Angeles Lakers
Position Shooting guard / Point guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1986-10-27) October 27, 1986
Memphis, Tennessee
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school South Gwinnett (Snellville, Georgia)
NBA draft 2005 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45th overall
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career 2005–present
Career history
2005–2012 Philadelphia 76ers
2006 →Fort Worth Flyers (D-League)
2012–2014 Atlanta Hawks
2014–2015 Toronto Raptors
2015–present Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Louis Tyrone Williams (born October 27, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Memphis, Tennessee,[1] Williams was selected directly out of high school by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 45th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft. Williams spent seven seasons with Philadelphia before signing with the Atlanta Hawks in 2012, playing two seasons there before being traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2014. He was then named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2015.

High school career

Williams played at Snellville's South Gwinnett High School under Roger Fleetwood, where he was a four-time All-State selection, was named Georgia's "Mr. Basketball" his junior and senior year. As a junior, Williams led South Gwinnett to the 5A Georgia State Championship. At the end of his senior year, Williams was named the Naismith Prep Player of the Year and a McDonald's All-American as well as a first-team Parade All-American.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Williams was listed as the No. 3 shooting guard and the No. 7 player in the nation in 2005.[2]

Williams, and high school teammate Mike Mercer, committed to play at the University of Georgia,[3] but Williams ended up declaring for the 2005 NBA draft instead.[4] Williams finished his career as the second all-time leading scorer in Georgia high school basketball history.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2005–2012)

After disappointing workout performances, Williams fell to the second round of the draft and was eventually picked 45th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. Williams played sparingly as a rookie, averaging 1.9 points and .3 assists over 30 games.

The next season, Williams was sent to play for the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League on November 28, 2006.[5] After a good showing in the D-League,[6] and trade rumors surrounding 76ers' starting point guard Allen Iverson,[7] Williams was recalled back to the 76ers' roster on December 5.

During the 2007–08 season, Williams averaged 11.3 ppg, 3.2 apg and 2.0 rpg. At the end of that season, Williams became a restricted free agent and signed a five-year deal worth $25 million to remain with Philadelphia.[8]

In game 4 of the first round of the 2011 Eastern Conference Playoffs, Williams hit a go-ahead three-pointer to give the 76ers a win against the Miami Heat, 86–82.[9] However, the Sixers ended up losing the series in five games.[10]

For the 2011–12 season, Williams led the 76ers in scoring with 14.9 points per game, despite not starting a single game.[11] He was the runner-up finisher for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.[11]

Atlanta Hawks (2012–2014)

On July 12, 2012, Williams signed with the Atlanta Hawks.[12] On January 18, 2013, against the Brooklyn Nets, Williams landed awkwardly on his right knee and had to leave the game on a wheelchair. It was later revealed that he tore his ACL and would miss the rest of the season.

Williams missed the first few games of the 2013–14 season while recovering from his knee injury. He made his debut on November 20, 2013, scoring 6 points off the bench. On December 14, 2013, Williams scored a season high of 27 points. He finished the season with averages of 10.4 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game.

Toronto Raptors (2014–2015)

On June 30, 2014, Williams was traded, along with the draft rights to Lucas Nogueira, to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for John Salmons and 2015 second round pick.[13] On November 22, 2014, he scored a career-high 36 points in the Raptors' 110-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.[14] On April 20, 2015, Williams was named the 2015 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, becoming the first member of the Toronto Raptors to win the award.[15][16]

Los Angeles Lakers (2015–present)

On July 9, 2015, Williams signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.[17][18] He made his debut for the Lakers in the team's season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 28, scoring 21 points off the bench in a 112–111 loss.[19] On January 3, he scored a then season-high 30 points in a 97–77 win over the Phoenix Suns.[20] Five days later, he scored 23 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 117–113 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[21]

Personal life

Williams is the son of Willie Louis Williams (deceased) and Janice Faulkner. He has one brother, Taurus Stinnett, and one sister, Shaun Haynes.[22] Williams has two daughters, Jada and Zoey. He is a close friend of Bow Wow and was seen socializing with him at his house on an episode of MTV Cribs.[23]

Williams has recorded several rap tracks and was featured on Meek Mill's single "I Want It All."[24]

He has an annual summer camp at his alma-mater South Gwinnett High School for children the ages of 10–16. Williams commented on his camp saying, "This camp means a lot to me because I can give back to a community that has done so much for me."

In December 2011, Williams claimed his NBA recognition saved him from an armed robbery attempt in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Manayunk. Allegedly, a gunman tried to rob Williams but stopped and revealed he was a fan of his. After Williams and the gunman reached an understanding, he bought him food from McDonald's.[25]

He is the subject of a song by Canadian rapper Drake called '6 Man', on Drake's mixtape "If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Drake referenced Williams' role as a sixth man for the Raptors, as well as his alleged two girlfriends. The song was released on 12 February 2015, the same season Williams ended up winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award. The song played during Williams' trophy presentation during the Raptors playoff game against the Washington Wizards, and Williams is featured in the song's music video; a promotion for OVO's Raptors themed Spring 2015 Apparel.[26]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2005–06 Philadelphia 30 0 4.8 .442 .222 .615 .6 .3 .2 .0 1.9
2006–07 Philadelphia 61 0 11.3 .441 .324 .696 1.1 1.8 .4 .0 4.3
2007–08 Philadelphia 80 0 23.3 .424 .359 .783 2.1 3.2 1.0 .2 11.5
2008–09 Philadelphia 81 0 23.7 .398 .286 .790 2.0 3.0 1.0 .2 12.8
2009–10 Philadelphia 64 38 29.9 .470 .340 .824 2.9 4.2 1.3 .2 14.0
2010–11 Philadelphia 75 0 23.3 .406 .348 .823 2.0 3.4 .6 .2 13.7
2011–12 Philadelphia 64 0 26.3 .407 .362 .812 2.4 3.5 .8 .3 14.9
2012–13 Atlanta 39 9 28.7 .422 .367 .868 2.1 3.6 1.1 .3 14.1
2013–14 Atlanta 60 7 24.1 .400 .342 .849 2.1 3.5 .8 .1 10.4
2014–15 Toronto 80 0 25.2 .404 .340 .861 1.9 2.1 1.1 .1 15.5
2015–16 L.A Lakers 67 35 28.5 .408 .344 .830 2.5 2.5 .9 .3 15.3
Career 701 89 23.5 .416 .342 .818 2.0 2.9 .9 .2 12.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008 Philadelphia 6 0 22.5 .400 .222 .733 2.0 2.0 1.0 .0 12.0
2009 Philadelphia 6 0 24.8 .412 .375 .667 2.5 2.8 .5 .2 9.7
2011 Philadelphia 5 0 26.0 .327 .300 .737 1.6 3.0 1.0 .0 10.8
2012 Philadelphia 13 0 27.5 .352 .167 .788 2.1 3.0 1.0 .0 11.5
2014 Atlanta 7 0 19.0 .380 .313 .938 2.3 1.1 1.0 .1 8.3
2015 Toronto 4 0 25.5 .314 .190 .833 1.8 1.3 1.5 .1 12.8
Career 41 0 24.6 .362 .238 .780 2.1 2.3 1.0 .1 10.8

References

  1. ↑ About Us – The Lou Williams Foundation
  2. ↑ Louis Williams – Yahoo! Sports
  3. ↑ Williams signed to play at Georgia - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
  4. ↑ Williams to test draft instead of attending Georgia - NBA - ESPN
  5. ↑ Hollis, John & Haddocks, Robert (2006): Louis Williams demoted by 76ers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 11/28/06
  6. ↑ Game-by-game NBADL statistics
  7. ↑ Jasner, Phil (2006): A.I. will soon be history, Philadelphia Daily News 12/09/06
  8. ↑ Guard Williams signs five-year, $25 million deal to return to 76ers - NBA - ESPN
  9. ↑ Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers - Recap - April 24, 2011 - ESPN
  10. ↑ Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat - Recap - April 27, 2011 - ESPN
  11. 1 2 Oklahoma City Thunder's James Harden wins NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award - ESPN
  12. ↑ "HAWKS SIGN FREE AGENT GUARD LOU WILLIAMS TO A CONTRACT". NBA.com. 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
  13. ↑ Raptors Acquire Williams, Nogueira From Atlanta
  14. ↑ Williams, Raptors beat struggling Cavs, 110-93
  15. ↑ "Raptors' Lou Williams wins 2014-15 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award". NBA.com. April 20, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  16. ↑ Devine, Dan (April 20, 2015). "Raptors' Lou Williams wins 2014-15 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award". Yahoo.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Lakers Sign Lou Williams". NBA.com. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  18. ↑ ESPN news services (2015-07-06). "Sources: Lakers reach deal with Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams". espn.go.com. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  19. ↑ "Wolves edge Lakers 112-111 in first game since Flip's death". NBA.com. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Williams scores 30, Lakers beat Suns 97-77 without Kobe". NBA.com. January 3, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Westbrook, Thunder hold off Lakers 117-113 despite Lou's 44". NBA.com. January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  22. ↑ Louis Williams Stats, Video, Bio, Profile
  23. ↑ Video on YouTube
  24. ↑ NEW VIDEO: MEEK MILL X LOU WILLIAMS "I WANT IT ALL"
  25. ↑ Lou Williams says he persuaded robber
  26. ↑ LOU WILLIAMS STARS IN VIDEO FOR DRAKE’S OVO RAPTORS-INSPIRED SPRING LINE

External links

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