Courtney Williams

Last updated

Courtney Williams
Courtney Williams (cropped).jpg
Williams in 2019
No. 10Minnesota Lynx
Position Shooting guard
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1994-05-11) May 11, 1994 (age 29)
Folkston, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Listed weight139 lb (63 kg)
Career information
High school Charlton County
(Folkston, Georgia)
College South Florida (2012–2016)
WNBA draft 2016: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Mercury
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016 Phoenix Mercury
20162019 Connecticut Sun
2017–2018 Perth Lynx
20202021 Atlanta Dream
2021 Elitzur Ramla
2022 Connecticut Sun
2023 Chicago Sky
2024–present Minnesota Lynx
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Representing the USA
World University Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Gwangju Team Competition
Pan American Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2015 Toronto Team

Courtney Monae Williams (born May 11, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Williams completed her high school basketball career at Charlton County High School. She signed with the University of South Florida and enrolled at the school in the fall of 2012. [1]

Contents

High school career

She played basketball for the Indians at Charlton County High School. Her mother Michelle Williams (then Michelle Granger) [2] also played basketball for the same high school 22 years earlier. Michelle set the single-game scoring record when she scored 40 points. In her junior season, Williams took over the record by scoring 42 points in a game. [3]

Collegiate career

Freshman

Williams was a solid role player coming off the bench in her first season with the South Florida Bulls. she appeared in every game and started in 3. She averaged 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and .88 assists over 33 games. [1]

Sophomore

In Williams sophomore year she averaged 30.4 minutes a game compared to her 15.3 coming off the bench the season before. She finished the year with 16.3 points a game along with 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists. She was named All-Conference First team and was an Honorable Mention for the All-American team. [1]

Junior

She was a starter in every game and averaged 20.3 points per game which led the AAC. Overall she was the ninth leading scorer in the country with 20 or more points in 20 different games. During one stretch of 10 game she scored over 20 points in each game which is the longest streak in the nation at the time. [1]

Senior

In her senior year Williams hit 308 field goals which was second in the nation among all Division I teams. She scored 763 points which was eighth best among all Division I players. [4]

Williams was inducted into the University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019 and her number 10 jersey is retired by the team.

South Florida statistics

Source [4]

Legend
  GPGames 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
YearTeamGPPointsFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2012-13South Florida3324541.932.472.53.40.90.80.47.4
2013-14South Florida3658643.827.476.77.52.41.00.516.3
2014-15South Florida3571042.036.978.97.53.31.60.920.3
2015-16South Florida3476342.638.269.78.42.61.30.922.4
CareerSouth Florida138230442.635.374.66.72.31.20.716.7

USA Basketball

Courtney Williams in the World University gold medal game against Canada 2015 WUG South Korea Courtney Williams2.jpg
Courtney Williams in the World University gold medal game against Canada

Williams was selected as one of 12 players to play for the US at the 2015 World University games, held in Gwangju, South Korea in July 2015. The USA team opened with a win over Italy. In the second game against China, Williams was the leading scorer with 18 points. The USA team won the next two points to earn a berth in the semifinal against Japan. The USA team was down by 15 points, but came back to tie the game up and send the game into overtime. The teams matched scores in the first overtime and went into double overtime for the first time in World University Games history. With 10 seconds left in the second overtime, Japan cut the lead to two points but Williams hit two free throws to secure the victory. Williams recorded a double double, scoring 17 points and securing 10 rebounds. The gold-medal game was against Canada. The USA won the gold-medal 82–63 with Williams again contributing a double double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds. [5]

Professional career

WNBA

Phoenix Mercury

Williams was selected as the eighth overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2016 WNBA draft. She was surprised by the selection since she didn't have many pre draft discussions with the Mercury. Williams has identified Diana Taurasi as a player who “I look up to and who I compare my mentality to”, and now she will be playing on the same team as Taurasi. [6] After appearing in a handful of games for the Mercury, Williams was traded to the Connecticut Sun on June 26, 2016. [7]

Connecticut Sun (2016-2019)

Williams helped the Sun reach the WNBA Finals during the 2019 season, before they ultimately lost to the Washington Mystics. During the 2019 season, Williams was also honored by the league with a Player of the Week nod. [8]

Atlanta Dream

On February 19, 2020, Williams was traded to the Atlanta Dream as part of a three-team trade. [9]

In October 2021, Williams (along with teammate Crystal Bradford) was released from her contract after a video of them circulated through various media outlets of their involvement in a fight outside of an Atlanta area food truck. [10]

Connecticut Sun (2022)

The Connecticut Sun re-signed Williams for the 2022 WNBA season. [11]

Chicago Sky

On February 4, 2023, the Chicago Sky announced the signing of Williams. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, per team policy. [12]

Minnesota Lynx

On January 31, 2024, Williams signed a two-year guaranteed deal with the Minnesota Lynx.

WNBL

On August 10, 2017, Williams signed with the Perth Lynx for the 2017–18 WNBL season. [13] Williams was named to the WNBL Team of the Week on 14 November 2017, after a 26-point performance against the University of Canberra Capitals. The following week, Williams was named WNBL Player of the Week, after tallying 37 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists across a pair of victories. Williams was a key contributor in the Perth Lynx's historic 14 game winning streak, resulting in the team finishing the regular season on top of the ladder. Williams finished the WNBL regular season averaging 21.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 2.25 STPG and 0.9 BLKPG. [14]

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2016 Phoenix 604.2.111.000.5001.20.30.00.00.30.5
2016 Connecticut 19017.2.427.308.5793.61.50.60.21.08.1
2017 Connecticut 342826.0.473.324.8784.22.10.50.21.412.3
2018 Connecticut 302927.1.456.377.6805.93.00.80.11.812.6
2019 Connecticut 343429.1.435.457.8005.63.81.40.41.613.2
2020 Atlanta 201430.8.436.235.6967.23.20.70.12.714.6
2021 Atlanta 323234.4.418.382.6426.84.01.10.51.816.5
2022 Connecticut 343427.9.426.338.7504.63.31.00.41.711.1
2023 Chicago 404030.1.437.443.6006.06.31.00.32.510.4
Career8 years, 4 teams24921127.7.437.375.7265.43.50.90.31.812.1

Postseason

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2017 Connecticut 1131.0.455.000.0006.02.01.01.03.010.0
2018 Connecticut 1133.0.478.800.3338.03.00.00.01.027.0
2019 Connecticut 8834.4.428.414.8135.84.40.90.11.817.9
2022 Connecticut 121227.1.415.318.6673.92.30.60.51.410.3
2023 Chicago 2232.5.316.286.0008.04.00.51.03.57.0
Career5 years, 2 team242430.4.420.391.7205.13.20.70.41.813.2

Awards and honors

Personal

Williams is the daughter of Michele and Donald Williams, and has one sister, Doniece.

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References

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