Chris Williams (July 9, 1980 – March 15, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. He was a small forward.

College career

Williams played college basketball at the University of Virginia, with the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...

. He was named the ACC Rookie of the Year in 1999. He was also named Second Team All- ACC in 2000, and Third Team All-ACC in 1999 and 2001. He had the nickname "Big Smooth".

Professional career

Williams led the

2004–05 EuroLeague The 2004–05 Euroleague was the fifth season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 48th season of the premier competition for European men's clubs ...

in steals, with 2.8 per game, while playing with the

Frankfurt Skyliners The Skyliners Frankfurt, currently known as Fraport Skyliners for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball club based in Frankfurt, Germany. Their home arena is Ballsporthalle. The club has played in the Basketball Bundesliga since ...

. He won the Germany BBL championship with Frankfurt, in 2004. From 2005 to 2007, he played in South Korea's KBL, with Ulsan Mobis Phoebus. He also played with Qingdao DoubleStar in China's CBA, and with

Mahram Tehran Mahram Tehran Basketball Club is an Iranian professional basketball club based in Tehran, Iran. They compete in the Iranian Basketball Super League. Mahram is considered one of the giants of Iranian Basketball and were Champions of Asia in 2009 a ...

in Iran's Basketball Super League. Prior to playing in the EuroLeague, Williams played as an import for the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the ...

in Australia's NBL. With the Kings, he was a leading scorer, he shot at a high percentage, and he was a top rated rebounder, which were key components to the Kings winning their first ever NBL championship. He was awarded the MVP of the league, and the MVP of the league's final. In a game between

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

and Dongguan Leopards, on December 25, 2009, Williams produced the second ever Quadruple-double in CBA history, as he finished the game with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, and 11 steals. Qingdao won the game 122–103. On October 10, 2013, Williams was named to the

' 25th Anniversary Team.

Personal

Williams died on March 15, 2017, due to blood clots in his heart.

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileCollege statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Chris 1980 births 2017 deaths African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Iran American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama Foolad Mahan Isfahan BC players Goyang Carrot Jumpers players Korean Basketball League players Mahram Tehran BC players People from Adamsville, Alabama Philippine Basketball Association imports Qingdao Eagles players San Miguel Beermen players Skyliners Frankfurt players Small forwards Sydney Kings players Türk Telekom B.K. players Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus players Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American sportspeople