 Williamson in 2021 | |
| San Antonio Spurs | |
|---|---|
| Title | Assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1973-12-04)December 4, 1973 (age 51) Russellville, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Russellville (Russellville, Arkansas) |
| College | Arkansas (1992–1995) |
| NBA draft | 1995: 1st round, 13th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Sacramento Kings |
| Playing career | 1995–2007 |
| Position | Power forward /small forward |
| Number | 4, 34, 35, 14 |
| Coaching career | 2007–present |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1995–2000 | Sacramento Kings |
| 2000–2001 | Toronto Raptors |
| 2001–2004 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2004–2005 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2005–2007 | Sacramento Kings |
Coaching | |
| 2007–2009 | Arkansas Baptist (assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | Arkansas Baptist |
| 2010–2013 | Central Arkansas |
| 2013–2016 | Sacramento Kings (assistant) |
| 2016–2018 | Orlando Magic (assistant) |
| 2018–2019 | Phoenix Suns (assistant) |
| 2023–2025 | Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant) |
| 2025–present | San Antonio Spurs (assistant) |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 9,147 (11.1 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,183 (3.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 972 (1.2 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Medals | |
Corliss Mondari Williamson (born December 4, 1973) is an Americanbasketball coach who serves as an assistant coach for theSan Antonio Spurs of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a former player who played for four teams during his 12-year career. He previously served as an assistant coach for thePhoenix Suns. Hisnickname is"Big Nasty",[1] a moniker he received from hisAAU coach when he was 13.[2] Williamson was a dominatingpower forward in college atArkansas, but an undersized power forward in the NBA and mostly played at thesmall forward position.
Corliss Williamson played basketball atRussellville High School, where he achieved numerous accolades. He was a three-time all-conference and all-state selection, and was named theGatorade National Player of the Year in 1992.[2] Prior to his senior year, Williamson held his own against future teammateChris Webber in an AAU championship game, getting 37 points to Webber's 38 points. As a senior Williamson averaged twenty-eight points and nine rebounds per game,[3] and led his team to theKing Cotton Classic championship. In the title game, Russellville defeated a team led byJason Kidd, with Williamson blocking a potential game-winner by Kidd at the buzzer. Williamson was named tournament MVP, but gave his medal to his teammate, Marcus Thompson, at the award podium.[2] Williamson closed out his high school career with a selection to play in the 1992McDonald's All-American Game.[4][5] He came in second in scoring to game MVPOthella Harrington, with fourteen points, and also had ten rebounds.[6] His #34 jersey has been retired by Russellville High and hangs on the wall of the school's arena, along with his McDonald's All-American jersey.
Williamson played at theUniversity of Arkansas from 1992 to 1995. In the1992–93 season, Williamson led Arkansas to a 22–9 record and aSweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament, losing to the eventual national champion, theNorth Carolina Tar Heels. Williamson averaged 14.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game,[1] and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
In the1993–94 season, Williamson was namedMost Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament while leading the Razorbacks to a 31–3 record and their only championship under coachNolan Richardson by defeating theDuke Blue Devils, 76–72, in the title game. Williamson led the team into the championship game in 1995 as well, but Arkansas lost toUCLA, finishing 32–7.
In three seasons at Arkansas, Williamson was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 1993, and was 1st Team All-SEC in 1993, 1994, and 1995. He was also named the SEC Player of the Year for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, and was named 2nd Team All-American for both years as well. In addition to the 1994 NCAA National Championship, Williamson also led the Razorbacks to the SEC West Division title all three seasons, and the SEC regular season championship in 1994. Williamson finished his career at Arkansas with 1,728 points, which ranks 8th all-time in school history. Williamson was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. His jersey (#34) is one of only two that have ever been retired by the University of Arkansas, along withSidney Moncrief (#32). He is considered one of the five greatest players in school history.[7]
Williamson declared for theNBA draft following his junior season, and was selected by theSacramento Kings as alottery pick (13th overall) in the first round of the1995 NBA draft.His best career year was in the1997–98 season when he played 79 games and averaged 17.7 points per game for the Kings, finishing second toAlan Henderson for theNBA Most Improved Player Award. After Sacramento traded him prior to the2000–01 season to theToronto Raptors (in exchange forDoug Christie), for whom he played 42 games, Williamson was traded to theDetroit Pistons, along withKornel David,Tyrone Corbin, and a 2005 first-round draft choice in a package forJerome Williams andEric Montross. In the2001–02 season he was named theNBA's Sixth Man of the Year and eventually was a member of the Pistons'2003–04NBA Championship team. Although coming off the bench, Williamson served a pivotal role in the Detroit offense. His coaches often looked to him in the low post when the Pistons needed a basket, where his unique skill set made him a difficult matchup as he was too powerful for small forwards to guard and too quick for power forwards. After being traded by the Pistons along with an undisclosed amount of cash to thePhiladelphia 76ers forDerrick Coleman andAmal McCaskill on August 8, 2004, he was again traded back to the Kings along withBrian Skinner andKenny Thomas for power forwardChris Webber on February 22, 2005.[1]
Williamson has the distinction of being one of the few professional basketball players to win championships at three different levels,AAU, the NCAA with Arkansas, and theNBA with Detroit.
Williamson announced his retirement in September 2007 to become anassistant coach atArkansas Baptist College.[8] He worked as a volunteer coach during his three years at Arkansas Baptist, succeedingCharles Ripley as the head coach for his final season at the school.[9]
On March 12, 2010, Williamson was announced as the men's head basketball coach at theUniversity of Central Arkansas inConway, Arkansas. Promising to play an exciting style of play similar to his former head coachNolan Richardson,[9] Williamson's teams improved gradually each season, but still never won more than half of their games.[10]
On August 2, 2013, Williamson left Central Arkansas to become an assistant for the Sacramento Kings.[11]
On June 29, 2016, Williamson was hired by theOrlando Magic as an assistant coach.[12] Vogel had previously been an assistant coach to Williamson when he played for the 76ers. However, after Frank Vogel was fired in 2018, Williamson would be fired as well.
On June 27, 2018, Williamson was hired by thePhoenix Suns as an assistant coach.[13] Williamson was previously connected to Igor by playing under him back when Kokoškov was an assistant coach for theDetroit Pistons during the2003–04 championship season. However, when Kokoškov was fired after his only season as head coach for the Suns, Williamson would also be fired alongside the rest of the team's coaching staff that season.[14]
On June 30, 2023, Williamson was signed by theMinnesota Timberwolves as an assistant coach.[15]
On August 18, 2025, Williamson was announced as an assistant coach for theSan Antonio Spurs.[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 |
| † | Won anNBA championship | * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | Sacramento | 53 | 3 | 11.5 | .466 | .000 | .560 | 2.2 | .4 | .2 | .2 | 5.6 |
| 1996–97 | Sacramento | 79 | 31 | 25.1 | .498 | .000 | .560 | 4.1 | 1.6 | .8 | .6 | 11.6 |
| 1997–98 | Sacramento | 79 | 75 | 35.7 | .495 | .000 | .630 | 5.6 | 2.9 | 1.0 | .6 | 17.7 |
| 1998–99 | Sacramento | 50* | 50* | 27.5 | .485 | .200 | .638 | 4.1 | 1.3 | .6 | .2 | 13.2 |
| 1999–00 | Sacramento | 76 | 76 | 22.5 | .500 | – | .769 | 3.8 | 1.1 | .5 | .3 | 10.3 |
| 2000–01 | Toronto | 42 | 31 | 21.2 | .471 | .000 | .646 | 3.6 | .8 | .4 | .3 | 9.3 |
| 2000–01 | Detroit | 27 | 9 | 29.5 | .534 | – | .626 | 6.2 | 1.0 | 1.3 | .3 | 15.2 |
| 2001–02 | Detroit | 78 | 7 | 21.9 | .510 | .200 | .805 | 4.1 | 1.2 | .6 | .3 | 13.6 |
| 2002–03 | Detroit | 82 | 1 | 25.1 | .453 | .182 | .790 | 4.4 | 1.3 | .5 | .3 | 12.0 |
| 2003–04† | Detroit | 79 | 0 | 19.9 | .505 | – | .731 | 3.2 | .7 | .4 | .3 | 9.5 |
| 2004–05 | Philadelphia | 48 | 5 | 22.0 | .465 | .000 | .788 | 3.7 | .9 | .5 | .3 | 10.8 |
| 2004–05 | Sacramento | 24 | 4 | 19.6 | .473 | – | .823 | 3.4 | 1.5 | .5 | .1 | 9.3 |
| 2005–06 | Sacramento | 37 | 0 | 9.8 | .417 | 1.000 | .776 | 1.8 | .4 | .2 | .1 | 3.4 |
| 2006–07 | Sacramento | 68 | 1 | 19.7 | .510 | .000 | .715 | 3.3 | .6 | .4 | .2 | 9.1 |
| Career | 822 | 293 | 22.8 | .490 | .136 | .714 | 3.9 | 1.2 | .6 | .3 | 11.1 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Sacramento | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | – | 1.000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
| 1999 | Sacramento | 5 | 5 | 26.0 | .575 | – | .700 | 3.2 | 1.2 | .4 | .2 | 10.6 |
| 2000 | Sacramento | 5 | 5 | 17.4 | .688 | – | .917 | 3.0 | .2 | .2 | .0 | 6.6 |
| 2002 | Detroit | 10 | 0 | 27.0 | .464 | .000 | .763 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .9 | .2 | 13.3 |
| 2003 | Detroit | 15 | 0 | 15.5 | .411 | – | .741 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .3 | .2 | 7.8 |
| 2004† | Detroit | 22 | 0 | 14.9 | .364 | .000 | .809 | 2.2 | .7 | .3 | .1 | 5.7 |
| 2005 | Sacramento | 5 | 0 | 8.0 | .375 | .000 | .778 | 1.2 | .6 | .2 | .4 | 5.2 |
| 2006 | Sacramento | 3 | 0 | 3.8 | .400 | – | 1.000 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.3 |
| Career | 66 | 10 | 16.7 | .436 | .000 | .781 | 2.6 | .8 | .3 | .2 | 7.5 | |
