NBA career
Out of Baylor University, Williams was selected with the 48th overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons with whom he played 49 games in his rookie season, averaging 2.4 points and 1.4 assists per game. The Pistons won the NBA championship in his rookie year.
Williams was traded by Detroit to the Phoenix Suns on draft day of 1989, along with the Pistons' first-round draft pick (27th overall) of the 1989 NBA draft, Kenny Battle, in exchange for the Suns' first-round draft choice (24th overall pick), Anthony Cook. That season was spent split between the Phoenix Suns and the Charlotte Hornets averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 assists per game, before being acquired by the Indiana Pacers in 1990.
He thrived during his two seasons in Indiana, averaging 13.2 points, 6.5 assists and shooting 87.5% from the free-throw line. Prior to the 1992–93 season, he was traded along with Chuck Person to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Sam Mitchell and Pooh Richardson. He continued his solid play in Minnesota for the following two seasons but, due to various injuries, in his final four years with the Wolves he participated in just 35 games (including missing the entire 1996–97 season). On January 21, 1999 Minnesota traded him, along with Željko Rebrača, to the Toronto Raptors in a three-team deal. By then his career was on the decline, and he only played two games for the Raptors before retiring that year.
At the conclusion of 1992–93, Williams ranked fourth in the league in free-throw accuracy at 90.7 percent after making his final 84 attempts. In the process, he broke Calvin Murphy's 1981 record of 78 successive free throws, continuing his streak into the following season (1993–94), making his first 13 attempts. As of 2022 he still holds the NBA record for consecutive free throws made during the regular season at 97, spanning 19 regular-season games from March 24 to November 9, 1993. [1] [2]
Chauncey Ray Billups is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball with the Colorado Buffaloes, he was selected third overall in the 1997 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. Billups spent the majority of his 17-year basketball career playing for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he won the NBA Finals MVP in 2004 after helping the Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. He was given the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" for making late-game shots with Detroit. A five-time NBA All-Star, a three-time All-NBA selection and two-time NBA All-Defensive selection, Billups also played for the Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers during his NBA career.
Quentin Lamar Richardson is an American former professional basketball player who was formerly the director of player development for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Q-Rich", he played professionally for 13 seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic. He won the NBA Three-Point Contest in 2005.
Morris Russell Peterson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Michigan State University, where in the 1999–2000 season he led the Spartans to the national title as Big Ten Player of the Year.
Corey Antoine Maggette is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He became an analyst for Fox Sports.
Louis Tyrone Williams is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted directly out of high school by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 45th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft. He is a 3-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year. As of March 2019, he is the NBA's career leader in points off the bench, and has played the most career games off the bench, surpassing Dell Curry's record in February 2022.
Richard Charles Pierce is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Deuces" and "Big Paper Daddy", he was selected as an NBA All-Star (1991) and was twice the NBA Sixth Man of the Year while with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Tyrone Kennedy Corbin is an American former basketball player who last worked as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets. He was first appointed the assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns, then was named the Utah Jazz’s head coach, on February 10, 2011, following the resignation of longtime coach Jerry Sloan. He was also the brief interim head coach of the Sacramento Kings in the 2014–15 season before being replaced by George Karl. Prior to that, Corbin played 16 seasons in the NBA.
Wayne Robert Ellington Jr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a player development coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Known for his shooting ability, he was nicknamed "The Man With The Golden Arm". He played for the University of North Carolina from 2006 to 2009. He chose to forgo his final season of college eligibility to declare for the 2009 NBA draft, and was drafted 28th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
José Manuel Calderón Borrallo is a Spanish basketball executive and former player who is a special advisor for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played professionally for 21 years including 14 seasons in the NBA, primarily with the Toronto Raptors with whom he set an NBA record for the highest free throw percentage in a season. With the Spain national team, he won a FIBA World Cup title in 2006, two Olympic silver medals in 2008 and 2012, as well as a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also won a EuroBasket title in 2011, two silver medals in 2003 and 2007 as well as a bronze in 2013. Calderón earned an All-EuroBasket Team selection in 2007.
The 2004–05 NBA season was the Raptors' tenth season in the National Basketball Association. A new management team of head coach Sam Mitchell, and General Manager Rob Babcock was hired before the 2004–05 season by the Raptors. On December 17, 2004, disgruntled All-Star Vince Carter was traded to the New Jersey Nets for Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, and Alonzo Mourning. Mourning would never report to Toronto and he was waived not long after the trade. He later signed with the Miami Heat for his second stint. Guard Alvin Williams missed the entire season due to right knee inflammation. The Raptors finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 33–49 record, which was the same record as the previous season. Sophomore star Chris Bosh showed improvement averaging 16.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
Gregory Keith Monroe Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 2010 NBA draft with the seventh overall pick and became the last Pistons player to wear the number 10 jersey, as the Pistons retired the number for Dennis Rodman in 2011. In his freshman season at Georgetown University, Monroe was named Big East Rookie of the Year.
The 1992–93 NBA season was the Timberwolves' 4th season in the National Basketball Association. In the 1992 NBA draft, the Timberwolves selected Christian Laettner out of Duke University with the third overall pick. In the off-season, the team acquired Chuck Person and Michael Williams from the Indiana Pacers. However, after a 2–2 start to the season, the T-Wolves continued to struggle losing 28 of their next 33 games, as head coach Jimmy Rodgers was fired after a 6–23 start to the season. Under his replacement Sidney Lowe, the team held a 12–35 record at the All-Star break, and suffered a 12-game losing streak in April, finishing fifth in the Midwest Division with a 19–63 record.
Bojan Bogdanović is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Croatian national team internationally. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), he plays the small forward position. He has also played for the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, and Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks.
The 1975–76 Phoenix Suns season was the eighth season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The season included an improbable run to the NBA Finals by a team that had never won a playoff series and made the playoffs only one other season in the franchise's existence.
Cory Ephram Joseph is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the point guard position and was previously the captain of the Canadian national team.
Tony Rena Snell Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the New Mexico Lobos. He was drafted with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Terrence James Elijah Ross is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies, where he was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection before being drafted eighth overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors.
The 2000–01 NBA season was the Pistons' 60th season as a franchise, the 53rd in the National Basketball Association, and the 44th in the Detroit area. During the off-season, retired All-Star guard and Pistons legend Joe Dumars was hired as General Manager, as the team acquired Ben Wallace and second-year guard Chucky Atkins from the Orlando Magic, acquired Cedric Ceballos, Dana Barros and John Wallace from the Dallas Mavericks, and acquired Billy Owens from the Milwaukee Bucks. The team later on signed free agent Joe Smith during the first month of the regular season. However, Ceballos was traded to the Miami Heat in late November after 13 games, as the Pistons acquired Corliss Williamson in exchange for Jerome Williams and Eric Montross in a midseason trade with the Toronto Raptors.
Lorenzo Dontez Brown is an American-Spanish professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the NC State Wolfpack and spent several seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in the United States, he helped lead the Spanish national team to a EuroBasket title in 2022.
Spencer Gray Dinwiddie is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes and earned first-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12 as a sophomore in 2013. He missed most of his junior year after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Dinwiddie recovered and was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft. After two seasons with the Pistons, he joined the Brooklyn Nets in December 2016 and played with them until being traded to the Washington Wizards in 2021. In February 2022, Dinwiddie was traded to the Dallas Mavericks and in 2023, he was traded back to the Brooklyn Nets and was traded to the Toronto Raptors the following year in February 2024 before being immediately waived by Toronto. He signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for the remainder of the season in a bench role.
