 Owens ("right") with a young fan at 2024 Jr. 76ers Basketball Camp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1969-05-01)May 1, 1969 (age 56) Carlisle, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Carlisle (Carlisle, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Syracuse (1988–1991) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1991: 1st round, 3rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Sacramento Kings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1991–2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Small forward /shooting guard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 30, 32, 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2010–2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1994 | Golden State Warriors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Miami Heat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Sacramento Kings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Seattle SuperSonics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Philadelphia 76ers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Golden State Warriors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Detroit Pistons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2018 | Rutgers–Camden (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NBA statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Points | 7,026 (11.7 ppg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 4,016 (6.7 rpg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assists | 1,704 (2.8 apg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Billy Eugene Owens (born May 1, 1969) is an American former professionalbasketball player who played for several teams in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball forSyracuse, where he was anAll-American and the 1991Big East Conference Player of the Year. Born inCarlisle, Pennsylvania, Owens played forCarlisle High School.
As a high school senior, Owens averaged 34 points per game, and helped leadCarlisle High School (Pennsylvania) to four consecutive state titles. He was considered to be the second best prep player of 1988, behindAlonzo Mourning. Owens and Mourning were co-MVPs in the McDonald's' Game. Throughout his career, Owens drew some comparisons toMagic Johnson due to his great versatility, ball handling and passing skills for his height.[1]
In his three seasons withSyracuse he averaged 17.9points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game out of 103 games.[2] In his junior season he was namedBig East Player of the Year.[3]
As a 6'8"small forward/shooting guard fromSyracuse University, he was selected by theSacramento Kings in the1991 NBA draft. However, after Owens remained a holdout beyond the start of the regular season, he was traded to theGolden State Warriors in exchange for high-scoring guardMitch Richmond.[4]The trade broke up the popular "Run TMC" trio of Mitch Richmond,Tim Hardaway, andChris Mullin; Owens' additional height compared to Richmond was the size that coach and general managerDon Nelson believed would complete the team.[5][6][7] Nelson said he "was under pressure to get [the team] bigger" to improve the Warriors from a good team to a great one.[8]
Owens averaged over 15 points and nearly eight rebounds during his tenure with the Warriors, including anNBA All-Rookie First Team selection in 1992. The Warriors improved from 44 to 55 wins in his first season. However, Owens was injured during his second season,[9][10][11] and he never reached the level of play the team hoped for.[5][6]
In 1994, the Warriors traded Owens and the draft rights ofSasha Danilović to theMiami Heat forRony Seikaly. In 1996, Owens andKevin Gamble were traded to theSacramento Kings forTyrone Corbin andWalt Williams. In 1999, Owens signed with theSeattle SuperSonics, but was traded in the following offseason alongsideDale Ellis,Don MacLean, and the draft rights ofCorey Maggette to theOrlando Magic forHorace Grant and draft considerations. Before playing a game for Orlando, Owens was traded to thePhiladelphia 76ers forAnthony Parker andHarvey Grant, the brother of Horace Grant. In 2000, Owens was traded back to the Golden State Warriors withLarry Hughes in a three-team deal that sentToni Kukoč from theChicago Bulls to the 76ers, but was traded to theMilwaukee Bucks alongsideJason Caffey in a three-team deal before appearing in a game for the Warriors, who acquiredVinny Del Negro andBob Sura. The Bucks then traded Owens to theDetroit Pistons forLindsey Hunter before a string of injuries finally took its toll; his career ended in 2001.[12]
From 2010 to 2018, Owens served as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team at Division III Rutgers-Camden.[13] In practice, players asked Owens how they should prepare themselves for professional careers. "I don't sugar-coat it because then you're playing with young kids' minds," Owens said. "For them to have their dreams crushed can do serious damage to them when they become real adults."[14]
He played for theUS national team in the1990 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.[15] In the same year, he also represented the United States at theGoodwill Games inSeattle and led the team in scoring en route to a silver medal.[16]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | Golden State | 80 | 77 | 31.4 | .525 | .111 | .654 | 8.0 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 14.3 |
| 1992–93 | Golden State | 37 | 37 | 32.5 | .501 | .091 | .639 | 7.1 | 3.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 16.5 |
| 1993–94 | Golden State | 79 | 72 | 34.7 | .507 | .200 | .610 | 8.1 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 15.0 |
| 1994–95 | Miami | 70 | 60 | 32.8 | .491 | .091 | .620 | 7.2 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 14.3 |
| 1995–96 | Miami | 40 | 40 | 34.7 | .505 | .000 | .633 | 7.2 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 14.8 |
| 1995–96 | Sacramento | 22 | 11 | 27.0 | .420 | .417 | .643 | 5.7 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 9.9 |
| 1996–97 | Sacramento | 66 | 56 | 30.2 | .467 | .347 | .697 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 11.0 |
| 1997–98 | Sacramento | 78 | 78 | 30.1 | .464 | .371 | .589 | 7.5 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 10.5 |
| 1998–99 | Seattle | 21 | 19 | 21.5 | .394 | .455 | .800 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 7.8 |
| 1999–00 | Philadelphia | 46 | 7 | 20.0 | .434 | .333 | .594 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 5.9 |
| 1999–00 | Golden State | 16 | 4 | 24.1 | .380 | .286 | .595 | 6.8 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 6.4 |
| 2000–01 | Detroit | 45 | 14 | 17.6 | .383 | .150 | .475 | 4.6 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 4.4 |
| Career | 600 | 475 | 29.4 | .481 | .291 | .629 | 6.7 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 11.7 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Golden State | 4 | 4 | 39.3 | .526 | – | .630 | 8.3 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 19.3 |
| 1994 | Golden State | 3 | 3 | 42.3 | .500 | .000 | .750 | 10.0 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 19.7 |
| 1996 | Sacramento | 4 | 4 | 32.8 | .441 | .000 | .500 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 8.3 |
| Career | 11 | 11 | 37.7 | .496 | .000 | .644 | 8.1 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 15.4 | |
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