Derrick Williams

Derrick LeRon Williams was born on May 25, 1991, in Bellflower, California. He attended La Mirada High School before committing to play college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats. During his freshman year in 2009-2010, Williams averaged 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, earning him freshman All-American and All-Pac-10 first team honors, and the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award. His sophomore year solidified his national standing, averaging 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while leading the NCAA in True Shooting percentage (.690) and Effective Field Goal percentage (.650). He was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year and was instrumental in leading the Arizona Wildcats to the Elite Eight in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, where he notably scored a career-high 32 points against Duke.

Williams declared for the NBA Draft in April 2011 and was selected as the second overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He spent two and a half seasons with the Timberwolves before being traded to the Sacramento Kings in November 2013. In his career, he achieved a personal-best 31 points in a game against the Dallas Mavericks in December 2013 and later matched this career-high with the New York Knicks in January 2016. Williams played for several NBA teams, including the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. With the Cavaliers, he reached the 2017 NBA Finals. Subsequently, Williams moved to international basketball, playing for teams such as Bayern Munich, Fenerbahçe, Valencia Basket, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Panathinaikos, and currently the Mets de Guaynabo, where he continues his professional career.