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 Levene Williams (born February 16, 1958) is an American who used to play professional basketball. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eighteen seasons, from 1981 to 1999. After his playing career, Williams became a coach. He worked as an assistant coach and even as an interim head coach for the NBA's New York Knicks. Later, he was an assistant coach for the New York Liberty in the WNBA.
College Basketball Career
Herb Williams was a key player for the Ohio State Buckeyes college team for four years. He scored 2,011 points, which was a team record at the time. He also grabbed 1,111 rebounds, which is still the second-highest in the team's history.
Williams is the Ohio State leader in career field goals made, with 834 successful shots in 114 games. He is also second all-time in career blocked shots, with 328 blocks.
In his junior year, Williams was named to the All-Big Ten team. That year, Ohio State had a great season, finishing with 21 wins and 8 losses. They also made it to the NCAA regionals, which are important playoff games. Williams led his team in scoring that year, averaging 17.6 points per game. He was a team co-captain in both his junior and senior years.
Professional Basketball Career
Herb 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, and these were some of his best years as a player.
Williams was a very reliable and effective player, usually playing as a center. He scored double figures (10 or more points) in all seven of his full seasons with the Pacers. His best scoring year was during the 1985–1986 season, when he averaged 19.9 points per game. He is still one of the Pacers' top ten players for career rebounds (4,494), blocks (1,094), and games played (577).
In the middle of the 1988–1989 season, Williams was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. He played for the Mavericks until 1992.
In 1992, Herb Williams joined the New York Knicks. He spent seven years with the Knicks, often playing as a backup to the famous All-Star player Patrick Ewing. Williams played one game for the Toronto Raptors in 1996, but then quickly returned to the Knicks. The Knicks made it to the 1994 NBA Finals and the 1999 NBA Finals with Williams on the team. He was an important leader for the team during these runs.
After the 1999 NBA Finals, Williams retired from playing basketball at 41 years old. He had played six regular season games and eight playoff games in his final year.
Coaching Career
Four years after retiring as a player, Herb Williams returned to the New York Knicks as an assistant coach in 2003. He worked under head coaches Don Chaney and Lenny Wilkens. When Wilkens stepped down in 2005, Williams took over as the interim head coach for a short time.
On July 26, 2005, Larry Brown was hired as the new head coach of the Knicks, and Williams went back to being an assistant. Williams also served as the acting head coach for the last two games of the 2005–2006 season when Larry Brown was unable to coach due to illness.
After that season, Larry Brown was replaced by Isiah Thomas. Williams continued to work as an assistant coach under Thomas and later under Mike D'Antoni and Mike Woodson. In 2014, the entire coaching staff was changed. Williams also coached for the Knicks' NBA Summer League team.
On March 26, 2015, Williams was hired as an assistant coach for the New York Liberty, 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
