Eric Williams (basketball, born 1972)

Eric C. Williams (born July 17, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1995 to 2007.

Eric Williams
Personal information
Born (1972-07-17) July 17, 1972
Newark, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolMalcolm X Shabazz
(Newark, New Jersey)
College
NBA draft1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14th overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career1995–2007
PositionSmall forward / Shooting guard
Number55, 32, 17
Career history
19951997Boston Celtics
19971999Denver Nuggets
19992003Boston Celtics
2003–2004Cleveland Cavaliers
2004New Jersey Nets
20042006Toronto Raptors
2006–2007San Antonio Spurs
2007Charlotte Bobcats
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points5,642 (8.6 ppg)
Rebounds2,139 (3.3 rpg)
Assists936 (1.4 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Career

Following a collegiate career which began at Burlington County College in New Jersey, then Vincennes University in Indiana, followed by Providence College in Rhode Island,[1] the 6' 8" small forward was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 14th pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. He played two years with them before being traded to the Denver Nuggets during the 1997 offseason for a couple of second round draft picks. The Nuggets only got four games out of Williams during the 1997-98 campaign due to him tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The following season, he returned, but only played in 38 of 82 regular season games with Denver before they repatriated him back to Boston along with Danny Fortson and Eric Washington plus a future draft pick in exchange for Ron Mercer, Ronald "Popeye" Jones, and Dwayne Schintzius. His second tenure with the Celtics lasted over four seasons until they traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Tony Battie and Kedrick Brown in a swap for Ricky Davis, Chris Mihm, Michael Stewart, and a second round draft pick on December 15, 2003. He became a free agent after 50 games with the Cavaliers, and signed with the New Jersey Nets prior to the 2004-05 season. Williams was soon part of a blockbuster player trade when the Nets sent him, Aaron Williams, Alonzo Mourning and two future first-round draft picks to the Toronto Raptors for franchise player Vince Carter.

In 2005, Williams decided to launch his own line of clothing honoring the fictional Negro Basketball League.[2]

On June 21, 2006, Williams was traded with Matt Bonner and a second round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft to San Antonio for Rasho Nesterovič and cash.[3]

On February 13, 2007 he was traded along with the 2nd round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft that the Spurs got from the Raptors to the Charlotte Bobcats for Melvin Ely. On March 16, Williams was waived by the Bobcats to make room for Alan Anderson.[4]

He holds career averages of 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.[5]

Life outside basketball

Williams appeared in multiple episodes of the reality TV show Basketball Wives, from seasons 1-4. Eric also went on to appear in the 2013 film The Caribbean Heist.[6] In 2015 Williams was featured in the painting, "Freedom from What," a critically acclaimed artwork by Pops Peterson based on "Freedom from Fear," by Norman Rockwell.

References

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