Deron Williams

At 39 years old, Deron Williams has this physical status:

Deron Michael Williams (DERR-?n; born June 26, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent.

He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini before being selected third overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz.

During the 2011 NBA lockout, the three-time NBA All-Star competed for Besiktas of the Turkish Basketball League, and was a gold medalist on the US national team in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Early in 2010, Williams was baptized as a Christian. He married Amy Young, who had known him since second grade and had dated since high school, and now has four children.

During the season 3 episode Twister: Part 1 with Dwight Howard and Kevin Love, Williams appeared as himself on the Disney Channel show The Suite Life on Deck.

Williams has worked in mixed martial arts and boxing for years, and he still has a stake in Fortis MMA. On November 5, 2021, it was revealed that he would be fighting on the undercard of the Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury feud. Frank Gore, the 2021 warrior, was announced on November 9, 2021, as his challenger.

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Early life and high school career

Williams was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, on October 8th. Williams earned two state wrestling championships in elementary school and middle school. He won the 67 lb. in 1993 as an eight-year-old boy. The Texas State Championship is a weight class. He won the 12-year-old 116 lb. He won the 116 lb. The weight class championship is a national championship. Williams played for The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas, and averaged 17 points, 9.4 assists, and 2 steals per game as a freshman in 2001. He coached his team, the Cougars, to a 32-2-two record and the Class 5A state semifinals against Bryan High last year. He averaged 17.6 points, 8.5 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game in 2002 as a senior. The Cougars' staff went 29-2-2 this season, losing the 5A Texas State semifinals. Williams, a Bracey Wright teammate who went on to play for Big Ten Rival Indiana University, was a teammate of Bracey Wright.

College career

Bill Self recruited Williams to play college basketball at the University of Illinois for the 2002–03 NCAA season. He played 30 of 32 games and finished third in the Big Ten Conference in assists with 4.53 per game in his freshman year.

Bruce Weber took over as the Illini's head coach in April 2003 and continued to help develop Williams throughout his remaining collegiate career. Williams, a sophomore, increased his scoring average from 6.3 to 14.0 points per game, and increased his assists per game from 6.5 to 6.17. Both the coaches and media selected Williams as the First-Team All-Big Ten selection.

Williams, the Fighting Illini's junior starting point guard, took the Fighting Illini to the NCAA championship game in 2005, where they lost to the University of North Carolina. The Illini were undefeated until their last game of the regular season, losing by one point to Ohio State. Illinois's passage to the Final Four was marked by a comeback victory over the Arizona Wildcats, where the Illini, led by Williams, came back from fifteen points down in the final minutes to win the game. Williams made the game-tying three-point shot in regulation with only 38 seconds remaining. He then scored a three-pointer in overtime, and the Illini never looked back in that match.

Williams earned numerous awards since the 2004-2005 season. Williams was named as the University of Illinois Athlete of the Year by being selected as a consensus Second Team All American, Big Ten All-Tournament Team, and All-Final Four team at the end of the academic year. Williams was also a finalist for the Wooden Award and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Chicago Regional in the NCAA Tournament. Williams, who was named "the MVP of the team" by coach Bruce Weber as a sophomore and a junior in 2005, led the Illini to the Final Four as a sophomore and a freshman in 2005. The team's future NBA stars included Dee Brown, Roger Powell, James Augustine, and Luther Head.

Williams declared for the NBA draft after the 2005 season, deferring his final year of collegiate eligibility.

NBA career

Williams was called a member of the 2005 NBA draft following the season. Following Andrew Bogut and Marvin Williams, the Utah Jazz selected Williams with the third overall pick. He began the season off the bench and then took the position of starting point guard, but was later sent back to the bench. In 80 games played, Williams averaged 10.8 points and 4.5 assists per game during his rookie season. Williams was rewarded by being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, as well as being the first other rookie outside of Chris Paul to win a first-place vote in the 2005-06 NBA Rookie of the Year voting (Williams received one first-place vote from Jazz color commentator Ron Boone). Williams and Chris Paul have formed a friendly rivalry that began after the 2005 NBA draft, where Williams and Paul were ranked third and fourth respectively. Sports writers and fans alike disagree on whether Williams or Paul was the better point guard.

Williams was the Jazz's starting point guard from 2006-07. With a 12–1 record, the Jazz began the season. This was the highest record in squad history and in the league. Williams played remarkably well in the first 13 games of the season, delivering five double-doubles. Both of these double-doubles were back-to-back performances of 26/14 and 27/15 (points/assists). Both of these assists figures outperform his previous career records. He also had a career-high in steals in the second of those two games, with five of them. In a game against the Detroit Pistons on January 17, 2007, he scored a career-high 31 points. In a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 24, he scored his career-high 21 assists in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies just a few days later. His numbers in his second season have increased in almost every category, with 16.2 points and 9.3 assists per game up to Steve Nash in second place (second only in the NBA). With winning the Northwest Division championship, the Jazz lifted their record to 52–31.

The Jazz's three-year playoff drought came to an end, and the Houston Rockets defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round. In each of the seven games in the series, Williams scored in double figures, with a 14 assist, 20 point double-double on May 5 to end the series. The Jazz won the series 4–3, defeating the Rockets in Houston to complete the story. It was their first playoff series victory since 2000.

Williams and the Jazz defeated the Golden State Warriors, the eighth-seeded team that had defeated the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks 4–2 in the first round. Williams began the season well by posting double-doubles in two of the first four games as the Jazz jumped out to a 3–1 series lead. Williams was plagued by foul play and struggled from the floor in the fifth game, missing only one of eleven shots from the field and scoring just two points. Despite Williams' poor showing, the Jazz won by 100 percent, bringing the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1998 and the John Stockton and Karl Malone eras.

In the conference finals, the Jazz defeated the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, a team led by Tim Duncan, who had won three NBA titles since 1999. Williams had his best basketball of the season in the first three games, with nine assists and more than 30 points in the first three games. After the Jazz beat Game Three 109–83, Spurs guard Tony Parker recognized Williams' effort.

As he compared Williams to former Jazz All-Star guard John Stockton, Spurs forward Bruce Bowen talked about Williams' abilities.

Williams scored a then-career high 41 points in a game against the Dallas Mavericks on December 8, 2007, but the Dallas Mavericks lost the match. On the season, he had two 20-assist games. He boosted all of his stats, gaining 18.8 points and 10.5 assists per game, third in the league behind Chris Paul and Steve Nash. Despite his good play during the season, he was not chosen to represent the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game because the point guard position was filled by Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, and Chris Paul. During All-Star weekend, he did win the NBA Skills Challenge.

A lot has been said about Williams' emergence as a leader on the team, as well as how he calls the majority of the plays on the team rather than coach Jerry Sloan, something not even John Stockton did. Williams had 212 assists in March, the most by any NBA player since John Stockton in January 1992. The Jazz also won the Northwest Division and the four seed this season, this time with a 54-28 record, and they also met a Houston Rockets team that had a home-court advantage in the first round. However, the Jazz captured the first two games in Houston and went on to win the series in six games. The Jazz lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. In the 2008 playoffs, Williams was the Jazz's top scorer.

Williams missed thirteen of the first fifteen games of the season due to a second-degree ankle injury sustained against the Chicago Bulls in the preseason. He returned against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 26. Since that time, he has steered the team through an up-and-down season marred by injuries to many key players (most notably Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko), but the All-Star Break has resulted in him being barred from the All-Star Game. He responded to the snub with good play, scoring 30+ points in five straight games before the break (he missed one game during this time due to a minor injury) and leading the team to a 5–2 record to close out the first half of the season, including a victory over the league-leading Los Angeles Lakers to snap their seven-game winning streak. The Boston Celtics defeated the defending champions of the All-Star Break with a victory over the Boston Celtics.

Williams became the second active player after Steve Nash to reach 20 or more assists in at least four games in their career on March 1, 2009.

Williams was named Western Conference Player of the Week on December 14, 2009. Carlos Boozer, his coworker and pick-and-roll partner, had been named Western Conference Player of the Week a week after being named The Western Conference Player of the Week. Since 1997, the Jazz hadn't won consecutive Western Conference Player of the Week Awards since Karl Malone won it back to back.

Williams was announced on January 28, 2010 at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for his 2010 NBA All-Star Game. This was his All-Star debut. He was also encouraged to compete in the NBA Skills Challenge, finishing second, second to Steve Nash.

Despite suffering from injuries to his wrist and ankle and playing without starters Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur, Williams became the second player in Utah Jazz history to score at least 30 points and 10 or more assists in a playoff game. John Stockton is the only other Jazz player to do so, having done so twice in his career. In a game 2 victory over the Denver Nuggets, Williams scored 33 points on 7–14 shooting from the line while making 16–18 free throws from the line, while also contributing 14 assists on the road. He repeated the feat later in the series, scoring 34 points and giving out ten assists.

Williams was the first player in NBA history to score at least 20 points and ten or more assists in five straight games in a playoff series on April 28, 2007. Through the first five games, Williams points/assists totals were 26/11, 33/14, 24/10, 24/13, and 34/10.

After Sloan resigned mid-season on February 7, 2011, he denied allegations that Williams caused him to leave. Sloan replied, "I forcibly pulled myself out." During the previous night's game, Williams admitted to having a dispute with Sloan, but he continued, "I would never threaten coach Sloan out of Utah." He was meant to this community and contributed more to this group than I have by far. I'd have started out of Utah first.

Williams was traded to the New Jersey Nets for guard Devin Harris, forward Derrick Favors, two first round draft picks, and $3 million in cash on February 23, 2011. Although Williams was under control through 2011–13 with a player option worth $17.7 million for 2012–13, Jazz chief executive Greg Miller did not believe the team could re-sign Williams. "I never saw any hint that he would not resign with us," Miller said, "I never saw any hint that he would," said the narrator.

As the team was set to make the move to their new home in Brooklyn, Williams' acquisition brought the Nets a veteran NBA player to help the team recover. Williams's impact on the Nets was immediately apparent, but he played in only 12 games due to a nagging wrist injury. The Nets were one of the highest scoring teams following the all-star break, with big men Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries both seeing their scoring numbers rise as Williams averaged 12.8 APG in those 12 games. His 47 assists were his best in his first three games with a new team and no Net before he scored double-doubles in the team's first five games. Williams underwent wrist surgery on April 11, 2011, the end of his season, although he was initially resistant to doing it. Williams screamed and told the doctors that I didn't want to have the surgery." "I was outvoted by the two doctors, two others opposed to one." I couldn't do anything about it. They told me that there was no reason to postpone it, and that if I didn't have it, I'd be dealing with the same pain once more."

Williams signed a one-year deal for $5 million net salary to play for Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball League and the FIBA EuroChallenge during the 2011 NBA lockout. With the work stoppage came to an end, his deal allowed him to return to the NBA with the Nets. Beşiktaş was the same team that signed Allen Iverson in 2010. Since Williams was still under an NBA deal, he had to get permission from FIBA in order to play elsewhere.

During a EuroChallenge first group-stage game on November 22, 2011, Williams scored 50 points against Göttingen. Williams went 17–23 from the field and 7–10 on three-point attempts and 9–11 on free throws. Williams' jersey #8 was retired by Beşiktaş in a farewell ceremony prior to a game against Zorg en Zekerheiden on November 29, 2011.

Williams returned to New Jersey after the lockout ended, with the Nets hoping to lead the Nets to the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Brook Lopez sustained a broken foot, causing him to miss more than two months, which ended his season. The Nets lost their next six holes after winning their first two holes in an abbreviated season. The Nets continued to fail without Lopez, but Williams did well enough to be selected into the All-Star Game for the third time in his career, scoring over 22 points and 8 assists at the break, despite his being voted out of the All-Star Game for the third time in his career.

The Nets began to pick up their play after Lopez returned from the All-Star break. Williams scored a career-high and Nets franchise-high 57 points against the Charlotte Bobcats on March 4, 2012. He beat Mike Newlin and Ray Williams for his previous team record of 52 points. It was the most points scored in the NBA this season and the second-most points scored against the Bobcats by a single player in a single game, second to Kobe Bryant. Lopez went back to the hospital with a swollen ankle and was out for many weeks.

Williams remained hopeful that he'd resign with the Nets, but he wasn't committed to keep his options open and become a free agent at the end of the season. After the Nets failed to land All-Star center Dwight Howard at the trade deadline, Williams reiterated this position on March 16.

Williams signed a five-year, $98.7 million contract to stay with the Nets, who had previously moved to Brooklyn on July 11, 2012. Since GM Billy King completed a trade with the Atlanta Hawks for six-time All-Star Joe Johnson, as well as re-signing young big man Brook Lopez and defensive player Gerald Wallace, he was advised to stay with the Nets. Williams scored his first regular-season points against the Toronto Raptors on November 3, 2012. Williams finished the game 107-100 as Williams finished with 19 points and 9 assists. At the Barclays Center on November 26, 2012, the Nets played their crosstown rival, the New York Knicks. The game was scheduled to take place on November 1, 2012, and it would be the first game of the season for the Knicks and the Nets. Due to weather in the New York City area that involved Hurricane Sandy, the game was postponed. In overtime, the Nets defeated the Knicks 96–89, with Williams scoring 16 points and 14 assists. The Nets fired head coach Avery Johnson after a 14-win, 14 loss start on December 27, 2012. Williams may have been involved in the shooting, according to rumors, but Williams denied playing a role and said he was surprised Johnson was fired.

Williams also announced that he would miss the final two games before the All-Star break to receive a cortisone shot in both of his ankles and platelet-rich plasma therapy in his ankles. He had ankle pains as a result of a bone spur that had caused inflammation.

When Williams scored 11 three-pointers in a single game on March 8, 2013, the Nets were playing the Washington Wizards, setting a Nets record. In the first half, he made nine of the 11 three three three threes, which was a NBA record for three-pointers in a half. In a Nets win on Saturday, Williams scored 42 points.

Williams tying the Hawks' Paul Millsap for the longest streak in the league in 2013-14 on March 28, 2014. Williams scored a steal in the 22nd straight game, marking the longest streak in the 2013–14 season. Williams claimed at least one steal in a straight game on April 4, 2014, one shy of the Nets' franchise record held by Jason Kidd and Mookie Blaylock. He tied the Nets' franchise record with a robbery against the 76ers the next day. On April 8, he tied for the first game with two steals against the Miami Heat. On April 22, the streak came to an end after he failed to record a steal in Game 2 of their first-round playoff matchup against the Toronto Raptors.

Williams was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, November 3 to Sunday, November 9. He had been leading the Nets to a 4–2 record to start the 2014–15 season. Since winning the award three times during his tenure with the Jazz, and the first since the week of November 8–14, 2010. Despite a good start to the season with Williams, he went down on December 19 in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 91–95 loss, limping off the court in the second quarter with a strained right calf and didn't return. He then missed the following two games, only to return against Boston on December 26 for the first time this season, losing his starting position to Jartt Jack. He was later ruled out indefinitely on January 8 with a fractured rib that he suffered against Miami on January 4. Williams returned to action against the Los Angeles Clippers on February 2 after an 11-game absence due to the injury, with 15 points and three assists off the bench.

Williams returned to his starting position against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 20 after 13 games in a row. In the 114-105 victory, he finished with 12 points and a season-high 15 assists. In a 114-109 victory over the Toronto Raptors on April 3, 2015, he scored a season-high 31 points.

Williams scored a playoff career-high 35 points in Game 4 of the Nets' first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks on April 27, tying the series 2-2. In six games, the Nets lost the series.

Williams was waived by the Nets on July 11, 2015. He was given a buyout from his first two seasons with the Nets.

Williams signed with the Dallas Mavericks on July 14, 2015. In a 111-95 victory, he made his Mavericks debut against the Phoenix Suns in the team's season opener on October 28, scoring 12 points and 7 assists. In a 115–112 overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on December 1, he scored his then-high 30 points in a game 115–112. He missed the team's last four games of December due to a left hamstring injury, and the Miami Heaters returned to action on January 1. He played 20 minutes off the bench against the Heat, earning nine points and five assists. In double overtime against the Sacramento Kings on January 5, he scored 25 points and dished the game-winning three-pointer. In a 132–120 overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 20, he set career highs of 31 points and 16 assists, becoming the first Maverick to play in the same game since Jason Kidd did so in 1996. Williams missed eight games with a left abdominal strain between late March and early April. Williams' abdominal strain resurfaced in Game 4 of the Mavericks' first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, effectively leaving him out for the remainder of the season after just 89 seconds and later ruled him out for the remainder of the season. Williams re-signed with the Mavericks on July 8, 2016. Williams scored a team-high 25 points in a 130-121 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Mavericks' season opener on October 26, 2016. In a 107-82 victory over the Chicago Bulls on December 3, he had a season-high 15 assists. In a 109-101 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, he had his first double-double of the season, with 15 points and 13 assists. Williams advanced to 21st place on the NBA's all-time assists list with seven assists against the Sacramento Kings on December 18, defeating Derek Harper for 21st place on the NBA's all-time assists list, with 6,584. He had eight assists against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 22, 2017 and took his 20th spot in NBA history with 6,715 assists, surpassing Kevin Johnson. Williams returned from eight games with a sprained right big toe, winning seven points and four assists in 16 minutes in the first half before being forced to miss the second half due to a time restriction. The Mavericks waived Williams on February 23, 2017.

Williams signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 27, 2017. Williams scored four points in 24 minutes off the bench in his Cavaliers' debut two days earlier in a 103-99 loss to the Boston Celtics. In a 124-121 overtime loss to the Miami Heat on April 10, 2017, he had a season-high 35 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.

National team career

In 2002, Williams earned a bronze medal as a member of the United States U18 team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championships. On June 23, 2008, he was selected as a member of the USA Olympic team for the 2008 Olympic Games. After losing out in the 2004 Summer Olympics after being unbeaten on the way back to winning the gold medal and living up to their "Redeem Team" moniker. Williams averaged 8.0 points per game with 2.8 assists in eight games in the 2008 Olympics. Williams was one of three-point guards on the national team, alongside Chris Paul and Jason Kidd.

Williams made the 19 man roster of the USA men's basketball team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in January 2012. He made it to the final roster. The team earned the gold medal after beating Spain in their second straight Olympics, score 107–100. Williams averaged 9.0 points per game with 4.6 assists in his second Olympic gold medal haul.

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