Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | September 6, 1962
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 |
|
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 | |
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, and Dirk Nowitzki.
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]
Born in Los Angeles, Willis graduated from Pershing High School in Detroit and joined the basketball team in his junior year. [4] [5]
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]
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.
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 ]
On the 1996 NBA trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors acquired Willis, along with Bimbo Coles, in exchange for Chris Gatling and Tim Hardaway.
Willis signed with the Houston Rockets in 1996.
On June 9, 1998, Willis was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Roy Rogers and two 1998 first-round picks.
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.
Without playing a game for the Bucks, Willis was traded back to the Rockets for another 2002 second-round pick.
Willis signed with the San Antonio Spurs. It was in 2003 with the Spurs that he finally won an NBA Championship ring.
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.
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.
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.
In 2007, Willis made three appearances on the Spike TV reality show, Pros vs Joes .
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 |
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 |
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 |
The Dallas Mavericks are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the American Airlines Center, which it shares with the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars.
Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time and is considered by many to be the greatest European player of all time. In 2021, he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. In 2023, Nowitzki was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Jason Frederick Kidd is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time, Kidd was a 10-time NBA All-Star, a six-time All-NBA Team member, and a nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He won an NBA championship in 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks and was a two-time gold medal winner in the Olympics with the U.S. national team in 2000 and 2008. He was inducted as a player into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In October 2021, Kidd was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, but occasionally played power forward later in his NBA career. An eight-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA Team selection, he played a record 22 seasons in the NBA, tied with LeBron James for the most seasons played in league history. He is also the only player to have played in the NBA in four different decades. In 2024, Carter was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm (EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players. The NBA announced that 56 college and high school players and 38 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the 2004 draft. On May 26, the NBA draft lottery was conducted for the teams that did not make the NBA playoffs in the 2003–04 NBA season. The Orlando Magic, who had a 25 percent chance of obtaining the first selection, won the lottery, while the Los Angeles Clippers and the Chicago Bulls were second and third respectively. As an expansion team, the Charlotte Bobcats had been assigned the fourth selection in the draft and did not participate in the lottery. The Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round pick due to salary cap violations.
Richard Allen Jefferson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who played small forward. He played for eight teams in his 17-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Jason Eugene Terry is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 19 seasons in the NBA as a combo guard and is also known by the initialism "the Jet". With the Dallas Mavericks, Terry won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2009 and an NBA championship in 2011. As of November 2024, Terry has made the tenth-most three-point field goals in NBA history.
Tyson Cleotis Chandler is an American former professional basketball player and coach.
Lafayette "Fat" Lever is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He later served as the director of player development for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA as well as an analyst for Kings radio broadcasts.
Erick Travez Dampier is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. He was a 6 ft 11 in / 265 lb. center.
Kurt Vincent Thomas is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'9", 230 lb. power forward-center, Thomas was known for his hard-nosed playing style and tough defense during his eight year tenure with the New York Knicks. Having played college basketball at Texas Christian University, he was drafted by the Miami Heat in 1995 and went on to play parts of 18 seasons in the NBA.
Monta Jerome Ellis is an American former professional basketball player. Ellis attended Lanier High School in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was a McDonald's All-American and first-team Parade All-American. He entered the NBA directly out of high school, being drafted with the 40th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2005 NBA draft. In 2007, he was named the NBA Most Improved Player. During his time with the Warriors, Ellis was one of the best scorers in the league, averaging close to 25 points per game on two occasions.
Zaza Pachulia is a Georgian professional basketball executive and former player who is a basketball operations consultant for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Avery DeWitt Johnson is an American basketball television commentator and former player and coach who most recently served as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. He is currently an NBA and college basketball analyst for CBS Sports.
Devin Lamar Harris is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. He played for 15 seasons, mostly with the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets.
Mamadou N'Diaye is a Senegalese former professional basketball player and the current assistant coach for UCF Knights men's basketball.
Hyland DeAndre Jordan Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies.
Seth Adham Curry is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one year at Liberty University before transferring to Duke. He is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and the younger brother of NBA player Stephen Curry. He currently ranks eighth in NBA history in career three-point field goal percentage.
Dwight Harlan Powell is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal and is a member of the Canadian national team.
Dorian Lawrence Finney-Smith is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Virginia Tech and Florida. After spending his first seven seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, he was traded to the Nets in February 2023.