Herb Williams facts for kids
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 16, 1958 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| High school | Marion-Franklin (Columbus, Ohio) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 262 lb (119 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Ohio State (1977–1981) |
| NBA Draft | 1981 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14th overall |
| Selected by the Indiana Pacers | |
| Pro career | 1981–1999 |
| Coaching career | 2003–2019 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1981–1989 | Indiana Pacers |
| 1989–1992 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1992–1996 | New York Knicks |
| 1996 | Toronto Raptors |
| 1996–1999 | New York Knicks |
| As coach: | |
| 2003–2014 | New York Knicks (assistant) |
| 2004, 2005 | New York Knicks (interim) |
| 2015–2019 | New York Liberty (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 11,944 (10.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,509 (5.9 rpg) |
| Blocks | 1,605 (1.5 bpg) |
Herbert L. Williams (born February 16, 1958) is a former American basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons. After his playing career, Williams became a coach. He worked as an assistant coach and even as an interim head coach for the New York Knicks. Later, he was an assistant coach for the New York Liberty in the WNBA.
College Basketball Career
Herb Williams was a strong player for the Ohio State Buckeyes college team. He started all four years he played there. He scored 2,011 points, which was a team record at the time. He also grabbed 1,111 rebounds. This is still the second-highest in team history.
Williams holds the school record for most field goals made. He also ranks second in career blocked shots. In his junior year, he was named to the All-Big Ten team. That year, Ohio State had a great season with 21 wins. They also made it to the NCAA regionals. Williams led his team in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game. He was a team co-captain in both his junior and senior years.
Professional Basketball Career
Williams was chosen in the first round of the 1981 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. He played for the Pacers from 1982 to 1989. These were some of his best years as a player. He was a very reliable center. He scored double-digit points in all seven of his full seasons with the Pacers. In the 1985–1986 season, he had his career-best average of 19.9 points per game. He is still one of the Pacers' top ten players for rebounds and blocks.
In 1989, Williams was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. He played there until 1992. Then, in 1992, he joined the New York Knicks. He spent seven years with the Knicks. During this time, he was a key backup player for the famous center Patrick Ewing.
Williams briefly played one game for the Toronto Raptors in 1996. But he quickly returned to the Knicks. He helped the Knicks reach the 1994 NBA Finals and 1999 NBA Finals. He was an important leader for the team during these runs.
After the 1999 Finals, Williams retired from playing basketball. He was 41 years old.
Coaching Career
Four years after retiring, Herb Williams returned to the Knicks. This time, he was an assistant coach. He worked under head coaches Don Chaney and Lenny Wilkens. In 2005, when Wilkens resigned, Williams took over as the interim head coach.
Later, Larry Brown became the Knicks' head coach. Williams continued as an assistant coach. He also served as acting head coach for two games in the 2005–2006 season. After Brown left, Williams worked under coaches Isiah Thomas and Mike D'Antoni. He stayed on the coaching staff until 2014.
In 2015, Williams became an assistant coach for the New York Liberty. This is a team in the WNBA.
See also
In Spanish: Herb Williams para niños
- List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds
