Derrick LeRon Williams (born May 25, 1991) is an American professionalbasketball player. He playedcollege basketball for theArizona Wildcats from 2009 to 2011. Williams was selected with the second overall pick by theMinnesota Timberwolves in the2011 NBA draft.
He spent two and a half seasons in Minnesota before being traded to theSacramento Kings in November 2013. After two seasons with the Kings, Williams signed with theNew York Knicks in July 2015. He later signed with theMiami Heat in July 2016 before being waived in February 2017. Williams joined theCleveland Cavaliers the same month, with whom he reached the2017 NBA Finals. He signed in China to start the 2017–18 season, but joined theLos Angeles Lakers on a 10-day contract in March 2018. Williams has played overseas since October 2018.
Williams was born inBellflower, California, and graduated fromLa Mirada High School.[1]
Williams originally committed to play at the University of Southern California.[2] He was quickly recruited by first-year head coachSean Miller at theUniversity of Arizona.
As a freshman in 2009–10, Williams averaged 15.7 points (7th in the Pac-10) and 7.1 rebounds per game, and had a field goal percentage of .575 (2nd in the Pac-10; 12th in theNCAA).[3] He was named a freshmanAll-American,All-Pac-10 first team and thePac-10 Freshman of the Year.[4][5]
Williams rose to national prominence in his sophomore year. He averaged 19.5 points (2nd in the Pac-10) and 8.3 rebounds (4th) per game.[3] During the 2011 season, Williams had a field goal percentage of .595 (tops in the Pac-10; 9th in the NCAA).[3] He led the NCAA in True Shooting percentage (.690) and Effective Field Goal percentage (.650), helping lead the Arizona Wildcats basketball team to a regular season PAC-10 championship. Williams was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year.[6]
Williams also contributed to the Wildcats' run in the2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. He made a critical block with less than 2 seconds against Memphis.[7] He had a 3-point play against theTexas Longhorns, which advanced the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 of the tournament.[8] Williams then had a career-high 32 points along with 13 rebounds to lead Arizona in an upset victory over the #1-seededDuke by a 16-point margin to advance into the Elite Eight,[9] where they fell 65–63 to the future NCAA tournament champion,Connecticut.[10] At the end of the season he was projected to be one of the top picks for the upcoming NBA draft.[11]
Sophomore year honors:
Williams announced that he would declare for the NBA draft on April 13, 2011.[22] He was selected with the second overall pick by the Timberwolves in the2011 NBA draft. During the NBA lockout of 2011, he spent the summer at the University of Arizona taking summer classes to finish his degree.[23] Shortly after the draft,Under Armour signed an endorsement deal with Williams.[24] Williams joined several other NBA players for an exhibition game in the Philippines during the summer of 2011.[25]
Williams participated in the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge, as well as the2012NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest.[26] Williams scored a season-high 27 points on February 28, 2012, in a win over theLos Angeles Clippers. He made 9 of 10 shots from the field and 4 of 4 from three-point range.[27] He led the Timberwolves to victory over theNew Orleans Hornets with what was then a career-high 28 points on March 17, 2013.[28]
On November 26, 2013, Williams was traded to theSacramento Kings for forwardLuc Mbah a Moute.[29] He made his debut on November 29, 2013, finishing with 12 points (on 6-for-13 shooting), six rebounds and four assists in a 104–96 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. On December 9, 2013, Williams scored a career-high 31 points in a victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
In theKings' 2014–15 season finale on April 15, Williams scored a season-high 22 points in a 122–109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.[30]
On July 9, 2015, Williams signed with theNew York Knicks.[31] He made his debut for the Knicks in the team's season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 28, scoring a game-high 24 points in a 122–97 win.[32] On January 12, 2016, he recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 120–114 win over the Boston Celtics.[33] The next day, he tied his career-high of 31 points in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets.[34]
On July 10, 2016, Williams signed with theMiami Heat.[35] On February 6, 2017, he was waived by the Heat after appearing in 25 games.[36]
On February 9, 2017, Williams signed a 10-day contract with theCleveland Cavaliers.[37] That night, Williams played 22 minutes in his debut in Cleveland's 118–109 loss to theOklahoma City Thunder and scored 12 points, going 3-for-3 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line.[38] He went on to sign a second 10-day contract on February 22,[39] and then a rest-of-season contract on March 4.[40] The Cavaliers reached the2017 NBA Finals, where they were beaten in five games by theGolden State Warriors.[41][42]
On December 28, 2017, Williams signed with theTianjin Gold Lions of theChinese Basketball Association.[43][44] In 15 games for Tianjin between early January and early February, Williams averaged 20.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
On March 9, 2018, Williams signed a 10-day contract with theLos Angeles Lakers.[45] After the contract expired, the Lakers decided to part ways with him.[46]
On October 3, 2018, Williams signed withBayern Munich of theBasketball Bundesliga (BBL) and theEuroLeague for the 2018–19 season.[47] In the EuroLeague, Williams averaged 13.4 points (9th in the EuroLeague) and 4.2 rebounds over 29 games, and was 9th in the EuroLeague with a .794 free throw percentage.[48][49] In the BBL, Williams won the championship with Bayern after defeatingAlba Berlin in the BBL Finals.
On July 18, 2019,Fenerbahçe announced that Williams had signed a one-year contract with the Turkish club.[50]
On July 8, 2020, Williams signed withValencia Basket of the SpanishLiga ACB.[51]
On June 30, 2021, Williams signed a one-year contract withMaccabi Tel Aviv of theIsraeli Basketball Premier League and theEuroLeague.[52][53] He averaged 9.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. On June 28, 2022, Williams officially parted ways with the Israeli club.
On July 15, 2022, Williams signed a one-year contract withPanathinaikos of theGreek Basket League and theEuroLeague.[54] In 34 EuroLeague games, he averaged 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists, playing around 29 minutes per contest. Additionally, in 32 domestic league matches, he averaged 6.2 points and 2.1 rebounds, playing around 18 minutes per contest. On July 3, 2023, he was officially released from the team.
Williams signed with theGuaynabo Mets to play under former teammateJose Juan Barea. Through the early season (as of March 23, 2025), he averaged 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.3 steals per game over three games. Williams faced a setback with a $2,500 fine and a two-game suspension for disciplinary reasons following an incident on April 19, 2025, during a game against theCangrejeros de Santurce[1]
| 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 |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Minnesota | 66* | 15 | 21.5 | .412 | .268 | .697 | 4.7 | .6 | .5 | .5 | 8.8 |
| 2012–13 | Minnesota | 78 | 56 | 24.6 | .430 | .332 | .706 | 5.5 | .6 | .6 | .5 | 12.0 |
| 2013–14 | Minnesota | 11 | 0 | 14.7 | .352 | .133 | .875 | 2.4 | .1 | .4 | .4 | 4.9 |
| Sacramento | 67 | 15 | 24.7 | .437 | .286 | .708 | 4.4 | .8 | .7 | .2 | 8.5 | |
| 2014–15 | Sacramento | 74 | 6 | 19.8 | .447 | .314 | .684 | 2.7 | .7 | .5 | .1 | 8.3 |
| 2015–16 | New York | 80 | 9 | 17.9 | .450 | .293 | .758 | 3.7 | .9 | .4 | .1 | 9.3 |
| 2016–17 | Miami | 25 | 11 | 15.1 | .394 | .200 | .620 | 2.9 | .6 | .4 | .2 | 5.9 |
| Cleveland | 25 | 0 | 17.1 | .505 | .404 | .692 | 2.3 | .6 | .2 | .1 | 6.2 | |
| 2017–18 | L.A. Lakers | 2 | 0 | 4.5 | .250 | .000 | .000 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Career | 428 | 112 | 20.7 | .434 | .300 | .710 | 4.0 | .7 | .5 | .3 | 8.9 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Cleveland | 8 | 0 | 4.8 | .533 | .600 | 1.000 | .4 | .5 | .0 | .1 | 2.6 |
| Career | 8 | 0 | 4.8 | .533 | .600 | 1.000 | .4 | .5 | .0 | .1 | 2.6 | |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Bayern Munich | 29 | 2 | 26.0 | .460 | .333 | .784 | 4.2 | .6 | .6 | .5 | 13.4 | 14.2 |
| 2019–20 | Fenerbahçe | 28* | 20 | 26.1 | .487 | .373 | .667 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .3 | 11.3 | 12.5 |
| 2020–21 | Valencia | 34 | 19 | 20.2 | .544 | .324 | .735 | 3.1 | 1.1 | .7 | .1 | 9.0 | 9.7 |
| 2021–22 | Maccabi | 35 | 31 | 24.6 | .436 | .378 | .711 | 3.1 | .9 | .9 | .1 | 9.4 | 9.1 |
| 2022–23 | Panathinaikos | 34 | 32 | 29.3 | .477 | .380 | .719 | 3.9 | 1.2 | .8 | .1 | 12.4 | 12.1 |
| Career | 160 | 104 | 25.2 | .478 | .362 | .730 | 3.6 | 1.0 | .8 | .2 | 11.0 | 11.4 | |
| College | Year | GP | GS | MIN | SPG | BPG | RPG | APG | PPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Wildcats | 2009–10 | 31 | 31 | 28.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 7.1 | 0.7 | 15.7 | .574 | .681 | .250 |
| Arizona Wildcats | 2010–11 | 38 | 38 | 30.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 8.3 | 1.1 | 19.5 | .595 | .746 | .568 |
| Career | [55] | 69 | 69 | 29.2 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 7.8 | 0.9 | 17.8 | .586 | .717 | .425 |
_21_Fenerbah%25C3%25A7e_Basketball_20190923_(1).jpg)
