Deron Williams

Lore & Background

Williams was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. In elementary school and middle school, he won two state wrestling championships. In 1993, as an eight-year-old, he won the 67 lb. weight class Texas State championship. Four years later in 1997, he won the twelve-year-old 116 lb. weight class championship.

He attended The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas and averaged 17 points, 9.4 assists, and 2 steals per game as a junior in 2001. That year he led his team, the Cougars, to a 32–2 record and the Class 5A state semifinals against Bryan High. In 2002, as a senior, he averaged 17.6 points, 8.5 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game. His team went 29–2 that season, losing the 5A Texas State semifinals.

Williams was a teammate of Bracey Wright who went on to play for Big Ten rival Indiana University. He was recruited to play college basketball at the University of Illinois for the 2002–03 NCAA season by Bill Self. In his freshman year, he started 30 of 32 games and ranked third in the Big Ten Conference in assists with 4.53 per game. Bruce Weber assumed the head coach position for the Illini in April 2003 and helped develop Williams throughout his remaining collegiate career.

As a sophomore, Williams improved his scoring average from 6.3 to 14.0 points per game and improved his assists per game to 6.17. He was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media. In 2005, as a junior starting point guard, Williams led the Fighting Illini to the NCAA championship game where they lost to the University of North Carolina. That season saw the Illini go undefeated until the final game of the regular season when they lost to Ohio State by one point.

Illinois's road to the Final Four was marked by a comeback win over the Arizona Wildcats, where the Illini, led by Williams, came back from fifteen points down in the final minutes to win the game. Williams made the game-tying three-point shot with 38.5 seconds left in regulation, then hit the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime. Williams received many awards after the 2004–05 season, including being named a consensus Second Team All American, as well as First Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Tournament Team, and All-Final Four team. At the conclusion of the academic year, Williams was named the University of Illinois Athlete of the Year.

Reader's Guide

Williams was selected by the Utah Jazz with the third overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft. He finished his rookie season averaging 10.8 points and 4.5 assists per game, in 80 games played, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He received one first-place vote in the Rookie of the Year voting. In the 2006–07 season, he became the starting point guard and improved to 16.2 points and 9.3 assists per game. The Jazz won the Northwest Division and reached the Western Conference Finals. In the 2007–08 season, he averaged 18.8 points and 10.5 assists per game, won the NBA Skills Challenge, and led the Jazz to the second round of the playoffs. In the 2008 offseason, he signed a three-year, $50 million extension.

Did You Know?

• Williams made the game-tying and go-ahead three-pointers in the 2005 NCAA tournament comeback against Arizona.
• He was the only other rookie besides Chris Paul to receive a first-place vote for the 2005–06 Rookie of the Year award.