Marcus Williams (basketball, born 1985)

Marcus Darell Williams[1][2] (born December 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played with numerous teams across Europe and Asia. Standing at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), he plays the point guard position. He was selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets. Prior to becoming professional player, he played college basketball for the University of Connecticut (UConn).

Marcus Williams
Williams with Crvena zvezda in November 2014.
Personal information
Born (1985-12-03) December 3, 1985 (age 38)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeUConn (2003–2006)
NBA draft2006: 1st round, 22nd overall pick
Selected by the New Jersey Nets
Playing career2006–2019
PositionPoint guard
Number1, 3, 5
Career history
20062008New Jersey Nets
2008–2009Golden State Warriors
2009Piratas de Quebradillas
2009–2010Memphis Grizzlies
2010–2011Enisey Krasnoyarsk
2011UNICS Kazan
2011–2012Jiangsu Dragons
2012–2013Unicaja Málaga
2013–2014Lokomotiv Kuban
2014–2015Crvena zvezda
2016–2017Budućnost Podgorica
2017Cholet Basket
2017–2018Reno Bighorns
2018Piratas de Quebradillas
2018–2019Stockton Kings
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

High school and college

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Williams attended and played for Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, California for his 9th, 10th, and 11th years, and transferred to Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) for his 12th year (2002–2003).

During his freshman year at UConn, Williams was suspended for part of the season because of poor grades.

As a sophomore in the 2004–05 season, Williams averaged 9.6 points and 7.8 assists a game. He was named Big East Conference Most Improved Player.

In his junior year, he was kicked off the men's basketball team for several months, for attempting to sell stolen laptop computers along with teammate A. J. Price.[3] Williams averaged 12.3 points, 8.6 assists, and shot 86% from the free throw line. In a game against Notre Dame, he recorded the sixth triple-double in UConn history with 18 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds.[4] In the 2006 NCAA tourney, he averaged 20 points, 8.8 assists, while shooting 52% from the field, 56% from three-point range, and 96% from the free throw line. Williams scored a career-high 26 points in a memorable 98–92 overtime Sweet 16 win against Washington on March 24, 2006.[5]

Professional career

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NBA career

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New Jersey Nets (2006–2008)

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Williams was selected 22nd overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets, using the pick they got from the Denver Nuggets in a trade for Kenyon Martin. Former teammates Josh Boone, Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, and Denham Brown were also selected, with all but Brown being first-round picks. Marcus Williams was named to the Rookie team for the 2007 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend. As a rookie in 2006–07, Williams played in 79 games, averaging 6.8 ppg and 3.3 apg.

Golden State Warriors (2008–2009)

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On July 22, 2008, Marcus Williams was traded by the Nets to the Golden State Warriors for a conditional first-round pick.[6] On March 10, 2009, he was released by the team.

Memphis Grizzlies (2009–2010)

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In July 2009, Williams began playing on the Memphis Grizzlies Summer League team in Las Vegas, Nevada. He joined 2009 first-round pick Hasheem Thabeet, undrafted rookie free agent Jeff Adrien, and Rudy Gay as one of four former UConn Huskies on the Grizzlies' Summer League roster. On August 7, 2009, Williams officially signed with the Grizzlies.[7]

International career

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Piratas de Quebradillas (2009)

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Williams during his tenure with Enisey Krasnoyarsk in 2010
 
Williams playing with Unicaja Málaga against Estudiantes in 2013

Williams signed with Piratas de Quebradillas of the Puerto Rican Basketball League (BSN) in late March 2009. During the first half of the season, Williams averaged 15.0 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists. He had registered one triple-double and was the league-leader in assists.[8] He was also selected to play in the league's All-Star game and won the game's MVP award, as well as winning the Skills Contest. He also finished the season earning All-BSN First Team honors with teammate Peter John Ramos, and helping the Pirates to the best record in the league. Because he went to the Memphis Grizzlies' summer league team and left the Pirates, he missed the league finals, and the Pirates lost the championship.

Enisey Krasnoyark (2010–2011)

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In August 2010, Williams signed a one-year contract with the Russian team Enisey Krasnoyarsk.[9] Quickly becoming leader of his new team, Williams helped Enisey qualify to playoff for the first time in club's history. In quarterfinals Enisey lost series to Lokomotiv-Kuban (1:2). Williams was named "Player of the Month" in Russian PBL League in November and December. He was also selected All-Star 2nd team. Williams finished season with 14.8 points per game and as league's best in total assists (184) and assist per game (6.8).

Jiangsu Dragons (2011–2012)

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In late November 2011, Williams signed a contract with the Jiangsu Dragons of China.[10] In 25 games, he averaged 11.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 25.8 minutes.[11]

Unicaja Málaga (2012–2013)

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In 2012, Williams signed a one-year contract with the Spanish team Unicaja Málaga. In 53 games, he averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 22.2 minutes.[11]

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (2013–2014)

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On August 19, 2013, Williams signed a contract with the Russian team Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar.[12][13] In 47 games, he averaged 9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 25.6 minutes.[11]

Crvena zvezda (2014–2015)

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On August 15, 2014, Williams signed a one-year deal with Serbian team Crvena zvezda.[14] On November 22, 2014, in a game against Galatasaray, Williams set a Euroleague record for the most assists in a single game (17).[15][16][17] He also added 8 points while shooting just 3–16 from the field. However, his team lost after double overtime with 110–103.[18] With Crvena zvezda, he won the Adriatic League championship, the Serbian League championship and the Radivoj Korać Cup.

On November 3, 2015, he re-signed with Crvena zvezda,[19] but on December 28, 2015, he and the team parted ways.[20]

Budućnost Podgorica (2016–2017)

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On July 27, 2016, Williams signed with Montenegrin club Budućnost Podgorica for the 2016–17 season.[21] On March 26, 2017, he was released by Budućnost.[22] In 27 league games, he averaged 10.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 25.4 minutes, while averaging 12.3 points, 1.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 27. minutes in 7 Eurocup games.[11]

Cholet Basket (2017)

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On 29 March 2017, Williams signed with Cholet Basket for the rest of the season.[23] In 9 games, he averaged, 8.3 points, 2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 23.1 minutes.[11]

Reno Bighorns (2017–2018)

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On September 26, 2017 Williams signed with the Sacramento Kings.[24] On October 10, 2017, he was waived by the Kings after appearing in two pre-season games.[25] On October 21, he signed with the Reno Bighorns, where he averaged 10.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 26.6 minutes in 49 games.[11]

Second Stint with Piratas de Quebradillas (2018)

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On April 26, 2018, Williams was reported to have signed with Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.[26][27]

Stockton Kings (2018–2019)

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For the 2018–19 season, Williams re-joined the G League with the Stockton Kings.[28] On February 5, 2019, Williams was suspended for five games without pay for violating the terms of the league's anti-drug program.[29]

Career statistics

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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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2006–07 New Jersey 79 2 16.6 .395 .282 .847 2.1 3.3 .4 .0 6.8
2007–08 New Jersey 53 7 16.1 .379 .380 .787 1.9 2.6 .5 .1 5.9
2008–09 Golden State 9 0 6.0 .235 .333 .333 .4 1.4 .1 .1 1.3
2009–10 Memphis 62 1 14.1 .384 .296 .673 1.5 2.6 .5 .0 4.3
Career 203 10 15.2 .386 .321 .767 1.8 2.8 .4 .0 5.6

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007 New Jersey 12 0 6.5 .333 .077 .800 .8 1.1 .1 .0 2.4
Career 12 0 6.5 .333 .077 .800 .8 1.1 .1 .0 2.4

Euroleague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2012–13 Unicaja 24 5 21.7 .362 .371 .667 2.7 3.3 .6 .0 10.5 9.4
2013–14 Lokomotiv 24 10 23.0 .331 .278 .756 2.2 3.8 .3 .0 7.3 6.9
2014–15 Crvena zvezda 24 23 25.8 .317 .292 .755 3.2 6.1 .8 .0 9.7 10.7
Career 72 38 25.5 .337 .318 .723 2.7 4.4 .6 .0 8.9 9.0

References

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  1. ^ "Marcus Darell Williams - Player Profile". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "Marcus Darell Williams, Born 12/03/1985 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Laptop thief Williams rejoins UConn". Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
  4. ^ UConn squanders 19-point lead as Irish rally to force OT
  5. ^ After slow start, UConn outlasts UW in OT in classic dogfight
  6. ^ Warriors Acquire Guard Marcus Williams From New Jersey
  7. ^ "Grizzlies sign point guard Marcus Williams". NBA.com. August 7, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  8. ^ "Baloncesto Superior Nacional | Jugador".
  9. ^ Enisey Krasnoyarsk signs Marcus Williams
  10. ^ 挑战八一江苏不想三连败 新外援豪言要用胜利庆生
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Marcus Williams player profile". RealGM.com. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  12. ^ "Lokomotiv Kuban announced Marcus Williams". Sportando.net. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  13. ^ "Marcus Williams signed with "Loko"". lokobasket.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  14. ^ "Crvena Zvezda puts Williams at point". Euroleague.net. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  15. ^ "Crvena Zvezda's Williams breaks Euroleague assists record!". euroleague.net. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  16. ^ "Erceg, Arroyo star in Galatasaray's 2OT win over Crvena Zvezda". euroleague.net. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  17. ^ "Vilijams ponovo sakriva loptu: Čudesne asistencije Zvezdinog pleja u Istanbulu (VIDEO)". mozzartsport.com (in Serbian). Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  18. ^ "EL: Erceg ukrao pobedu Zvezdi!". b92.net (in Serbian). Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  19. ^ "Crvena Zvezda brings back point guard Williams". Euroleague.net. November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  20. ^ "Rastanak Crvene zvezde i Vilijamsa". kkcrvenazvezda.rs (in Serbian). December 28, 2015. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  21. ^ "Markus Vilijams pojačao Budućnost Voli". vijesti.me (in Serbian). July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  22. ^ "Budućnost otpustila Vilijamsa uoči revanša sa CZ". B92.net (in Serbian). March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  23. ^ "Cholet signs Marcus Williams". Sportando.com. March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  24. ^ "Kings Sign Marcus Williams". NBA.com. September 26, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  25. ^ "Kings Waive Marcus Williams". NBA.com. October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  26. ^ "Quebradillas tiene un nuevo armador importado". bsnpr.com (in Spanish). Baloncesto Superior Nacional. April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  27. ^ "Marcus Williams signs with Piratas de Quebradillas". Sportando.basketball. April 27, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  28. ^ "STOCKTON KINGS WAIVE FOUR PLAYERS". NBA.com. October 31, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  29. ^ "Stockton Kings' Marcus Williams suspended". NBA. February 5, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
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