Kevin Willis

Kevin Willis

Willis at the White House in 2003
Personal information
Born	(1962-09-06) September 6, 1962 (age 62) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school	John J. Pershing (Detroit, Michigan)
College	Jackson College (1980–1981) Michigan State (1981–1984)
NBA draft	1984: 1st round, 11th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career	1984–2005, 2007
Position	Power forward / center
Number	42, 41, 43, 45
Career history
1984–1994	Atlanta Hawks
1994–1996	Miami Heat
1996	Golden State Warriors
1996–1998	Houston Rockets
1998–2001	Toronto Raptors
2001	Denver Nuggets
2001–2002	Houston Rockets
2002–2004	San Antonio Spurs
2004–2005	Atlanta Hawks
2007	Dallas Mavericks
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (2003) NBA All-Star (1992) All-NBA Third Team (1992)
Career NBA statistics
Points	17,523 (12.1 ppg)
Rebounds	11,901 (8.4 rpg)
Assists	1,328 (0.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Kevin Alvin Willis (born September 6, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player mostly known for playing with the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 7-foot power forward/center. Excluding players not yet eligible, he holds the record for most games played among those not in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Willis is one of fifteen players in NBA history with over 16,000 career points and 11,000 career rebounds. He was named to the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Team in 1992, when he finished the season with a career-high average of 15.5 rebounds a game. ^[1] Willis holds career averages of 12.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, ^[2] and 0.9 apg while averaging 27 minutes per game in 21 NBA seasons. During his 23 years in the league, Willis won one championship, with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003. He shares the second position for most seasons played in the NBA with Robert Parish, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, and LeBron James.

During the 2004–05 season, Willis was the oldest player in the league at age 42, ^[3] and he would continue to be until his retirement at the conclusion of the 2006–07 season at the age of 44. ^[2]

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, Willis graduated from Pershing High School in Detroit and joined the basketball team in his junior year. ^{[4] [5]}

College career

Willis played competitively at Jackson College for his freshman season and transferred to Michigan State University, where he would play three seasons ^[5] as a fashion and textiles major. ^[6]

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (1984–1994)

He was selected in the 1984 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. On March 11, 1986, Willis scored a career-high 39 points and grabbed 21 rebounds during a 128–116 win over the Denver Nuggets. ^[7] In total, he played with the Hawks for nine seasons (plus two games of a tenth season) until 1994. Willis teamed with Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, and Doc Rivers to frequently guide the Hawks to playoff appearances as well as providing a fierce rebounding presence in the post. Near the end of his stint with the Hawks, he and Wilkins were both made team captains.

Miami Heat (1994–1996)

Willis was traded to the Miami Heat in 1994 for Grant Long and Steve Smith. Willis' first season was tumultuous, ^[8] and the trade was so poorly received in Miami that it indirectly led to the organization seeking to, and eventually succeeding in, hiring Pat Riley to be their new head coach and General Manager.^{[ citation needed ]}

Golden State Warriors (1996)

On the 1996 NBA trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors acquired Willis, along with Bimbo Coles, in exchange for Chris Gatling and Tim Hardaway.

Houston Rockets (1996–1998)

Willis signed with the Houston Rockets in 1996.

Toronto Raptors (1998–2001)

On June 9, 1998, Willis was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Roy Rogers and two 1998 first-round picks.

Denver Nuggets (2001)

On January 12, 2001, the Denver Nuggets acquired Willis, Aleksandar Radojević, Garth Joseph, and a 2001 2nd-round pick in a deal that brought Tracy Murray, Keon Clark, and Mamadou N'Diaye to Toronto. He and Radojević were traded together nine months later to the Milwaukee Bucks for Scott Williams and a 2002 second-round pick.

Return to Houston Rockets (2001–2002)

Without playing a game for the Bucks, Willis was traded back to the Rockets for another 2002 second-round pick.

San Antonio Spurs (2002–2004)

Willis signed with the San Antonio Spurs. It was in 2003 with the Spurs that he finally won an NBA Championship ring.

Return to Atlanta Hawks (2004–2005)

Willis returned to the Hawks for one more season in 2004–05, and by doing so, positioned himself to be the oldest player in the league.

Dallas Mavericks (2007)

On March 30, 2007, The Dallas Morning News reported that Willis needed only to pass a physical to be able to sign with the Western Conference-leading Dallas Mavericks. Willis, who did not play in 2005–06, was reported to take the team's vacant 15th roster spot. ^[9] The deal became official when he signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks on April 2, 2007. ^[2] He appeared in five late regular-season games and was on the Mavericks playoff roster as the 12th man but did not play in the Mavericks' shocking early first-round exit. By playing five games during 2006–07, Willis became the oldest person to play more than two games in an NBA season (Providence Steamrollers coach Nat Hickey activated himself for two games in 1948, at 45 years and 363 days old.) ^[10] Hall of Famer Robert Parish, who – at age 43 – played 43 games with the Chicago Bulls in 1996–97, previously held many of Willis' longevity and age-based records.

Retirement

Willis ended his playing career after the 2006–07 season, returning to his clothing business, Willis & Walker. ^[11] The Atlanta-based company, which specializes in custom wear for big and tall men, was founded in 1988 by Willis and his former Michigan State teammate Ralph Walker. ^[12]

Professional wrestler Lex Luger revealed that Willis made him various suits in his time as a clothier, as well as a white, collared Nehru shirt that he would later prominently wear in his WCW return on Nitro in 1995. ^[13] Luger knew Willis from years prior, with the former having worked in the Georgia-based promotion originally from 1987 to 1992.

Television appearances

In 2007, Willis made three appearances on the Spike TV reality show, Pros vs Joes .

NBA career statistics

Legend

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 an NBA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1984–85	Atlanta	82	19	21.8	.467	.221	.657	6.4	.4	.4	.6	9.3
1985–86	Atlanta	82	59	28.0	.517	.000	.654	8.6	.5	.8	.5	12.3
1986–87	Atlanta	81	81	32.4	.536	.250	.709	10.5	.8	.8	.8	16.1
1987–88	Atlanta	75	55	27.9	.518	.000	.649	7.3	.4	.9	.5	11.6
1989–90	Atlanta	81	51	28.1	.519	.286	.683	8.0	.7	.8	.6	12.4
1990–91	Atlanta	80	80	29.7	.504	.400	.668	8.8	1.2	.8	.5	13.1
1991–92	Atlanta	81	80	36.6	.483	.162	.804	15.5	2.1	.9	.7	18.3
1992–93	Atlanta	80	80	36.0	.506	.241	.653	12.9	2.1	.9	.5	17.9
1993–94	Atlanta	80	80	35.8	.499	.375	.713	12.0	1.9	1.0	.5	19.1
1994–95	Atlanta	2	2	44.5	.390	.000	.667	18.0	1.5	.5	1.5	21.0
	Miami	65	61	35.4	.469	.214	.691	10.7	1.3	.9	.5	17.1
1995–96	Miami	47	42	28.9	.473	.000	.712	8.9	.7	.4	.5	10.2
	Golden State	28	18	27.8	.433	.250	.701	7.8	.7	.5	.6	11.3
1996–97	Houston	75	32	26.2	.481	.143	.693	7.5	.9	.6	.4	11.2
1997–98	Houston	81	74	31.2	.510	.143	.793	8.4	1.0	.7	.5	16.1
1998–99	Toronto	42	38	29.0	.418	.000	.839	8.3	1.6	.7	.7	12.0
1999–00	Toronto	79	1	21.3	.415	.333	.799	6.1	.6	.5	.6	7.6
2000–01	Toronto	35	9	22.0	.461	.000	.753	6.4	.6	.5	.6	8.8
	Denver	43	13	24.6	.428	.250	.788	7.2	.7	.9	.7	9.6
2001–02	Houston	52	5	16.7	.440	.000	.747	5.8	.3	.5	.4	6.1
2002–03†	San Antonio	71	6	11.8	.479	.000	.614	3.2	.3	.3	.3	4.2
2003–04	San Antonio	48	0	7.8	.467	.000	.615	2.0	.2	.4	.2	3.4
2004–05	Atlanta	29	5	11.9	.389	.000	.739	2.6	.3	.3	.2	3.0
2006–07	Dallas	5	0	8.6	.385	–	1.000	1.6	.2	.4	.2	2.4
Career		1,424	891	26.9	.487	.211	.713	8.4	.9	.7	.5	12.1
All-Star		1	0	14.0	.400	–	–	4.0	.0	.0	.0	8.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1986	Atlanta	9	–	31.1	.561	–	.652	7.2	.6	.8	.9	13.9
1987	Atlanta	9	–	39.6	.522	–	.677	9.2	.7	1.0	.8	15.7
1988	Atlanta	12	–	38.5	.580	.000	.680	9.0	.9	.8	.8	16.2
1991	Atlanta	5	5	31.8	.403	.667	.700	9.0	1.0	.4	.2	15.4
1993	Atlanta	3	3	34.3	.467	.000	.571	8.7	1.0	.7	.0	16.7
1994	Atlanta	11	11	32.9	.457	.000	.762	10.8	1.0	.7	.5	12.2
1997	Houston	16	0	18.4	.400	.000	.684	4.7	.7	.6	.3	6.4
1998	Houston	5	5	33.6	.400	.000	.750	10.6	1.0	1.0	1.6	11.2
2000	Toronto	3	0	25.3	.364	–	.750	8.7	.3	.7	.0	13.0
2003†	San Antonio	18	0	5.1	.525	1.000	1.000	1.7	.1	.1	.1	2.6
2004	San Antonio	7	0	3.6	.375	.000	.000	.9	.0	.1	.0	.9
Career		98	–	24.3	.484	.214	.692	6.5	.6	.6	.4	9.9

See also

• List of NBA career games played leaders
• List of NBA career minutes played leaders
• List of NBA career rebounding leaders
• List of NBA single-season rebounding leaders
• List of NBA single-game rebounding leaders
• List of NBA career personal fouls leaders
• List of oldest and youngest NBA players
• List of NBA seasons played leaders

References

1. Kevin Willis NBA Player Profile, accessed March 31, 2007.
2. Willis becomes oldest player in Mavs’ history, April 2, 2007
3. "2004–05 NBA Player Survey Results: Age". NBA.com . Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
4. "Kevin Willis". basketball-reference. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
5. "Kevin Willis bio page". NBA. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
6. Pablo S. Torre (July 4, 2011). "Larger Than Real Life". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
7. NBA Roundup : Willis (39) Steals Show in Hawks’ Win
8. WILLIS BENCHED FOR REFUSING TO TAKE PART IN DRILL
9. Willis set to sign with Mavs, accessed March 31, 2007.
10. Whatchoo Talkin' 'Bout Willis? Archived August 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Posted by Rob Peterson, April 3, 2007
11. Guglielmo, Connie (October 3, 2008). "Apple Wins BlackBerry Defectors With Business iPhones". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
12. Weissenberg, Tracy (June 25, 2013). "Ex-Hawks star Willis still flying high in world of fashion". nba.com . Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
13. "Lex Luger Shares the Origin of His Infamous Big White Shirt from WCW Nitro". November 3, 2023.

External links

• Kevin Willis biography at NBA.com (archived from 2004)
• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com    and  Basketball-Reference.com
• Hey! Whatever Happened To Kevin Willis?