Michael Sharod Wilks, Jr. (born May 7, 1979) is an American coach and former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA).

College career

After graduating from

Rufus King High School Rufus King International High School, or Rufus King, is a public magnet high school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. The school is ranked the 1,658th best public high school in the ...

in Milwaukee, Wilks played four years (1997–2001) of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

, where Mike majored in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. His senior year, Mike averaged 20.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, earning

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to mos ...

Scholar Athlete honors.

Professional career

Wilks began his professional career as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. Mike wilks started his career in the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

Training camp, however he was waived before the season started. Wilks was drafted by the Mobile Revelers in Round 12 Pick 7 in the NBA D league draft. After Playing 6 games for the Revelers he moved to the Huntsville Flight where he finished out the season. As a rookie in the NBA Development League, Mike won the 2001–02 Sportsmanship Award while playing for the Huntsville Flight. Wilks started for the 2002 season on the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

Training Camp roster. He was again waived before the start of the 2002-2003 regular season. He returned to the Huntsville Flight for the 2002-2003 d-league season. On December 24, 2002 he was signed to a contract by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

where he played 6 games before he was subsequently waived on January 7, 2003. He then returned on his first of 2 10-day contracts for the

where he then played another 9 games. After his time with the

came to a close Wilks signed with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

on a 10 day contract, which turned into a full contract in which he played 31 out of 32 of the final games for the team. On September 8, 2003 Wilks signed with the Houston Rockets where he played 26 games in the season. 1 year later he did a sign and trade with the Rockets where he was traded with

Eric Piatkowski Eric Todd Piatkowski (; born September 30, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He is the son of former ABA player Wa ...

and

Adrian Griffin Adrian Darnell Griffin Sr. (born July 4, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA as a shooting guard ...

to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

for Dikembe Mutombo. On 10/26/2004 Wilks signed with the San Antonio Surs with whom he won a title in 2005, averaging 1.8 points per game in the regular season. Wilks then signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers Where he played 37 games. Near the 2003 deadline the Cavaliers traded Wilks and Cash to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

for Flip Murray. Wilks also played the 2006-2007 season with the

. He played 57 games over the 2 seasons for the Sonics. Wilks signed for Training Camp with the Denver Nuggets. After being waived by the Nuggets in October 2007, Wilks was re-signed four days later after

Chucky Atkins Kenneth Lavon "Chucky" Atkins (born August 14, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player who played for nine different NBA teams throughout his career. Basketball career Atkins played college basketball at the University of Sout ...

suffered an injury. Mike was waived again later in November and signed by the Wizards in December 2007. On February 29, 2008 the Sonics signed Wilks to a 10-day contract. After the contract expired, he was not re-signed. Wilks signed with the Orlando Magic on September 30, 2008. In the pre season game on October 26, 2008 Mike tore his ACL in his right knee and missed the whole regular season. Mike was traded to the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

on February 19, 2009. After leaving the

. Wilks spent 2009 training camp with the

but was not signed for the season. Michael Wilks signed a contract with the

on November 26. He was waived by Oklahoma City on December 22, 2009, when the team acquired

Eric Maynor Eric Demarqua Maynor (born June 11, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for Virginia Commonwealth ...

. This was his second stint with the franchise. Wilks' final NBA game was played on December 4, 2009 in a 87 - 105 loss to the Boston Celtics where he recorded 7 points and 2 assists while playing 21 minutes off the bench. Wilks wore number 29 throughout his NBA career (with the exception of his stint with the Spurs, in which he wore 11), as a tribute to Milwaukee's 29th Street playground where he grew up playing the game. On August 25, 2010, he signed a deal with Polish league champion

Asseco Prokom Gdynia Arka Gdynia is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Gdynia. The team plays in the Polish PLK. The club's sponsorship name comes from the company Asseco. Historically the team is one of the most successful in Poland, mainly because of t ...

but was waived in January 2011. In the 2011-2012 season Mike Wilks was brought in for

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

training camp but was cut before the regular season. In October 2012, Wilks joined the

as a scout. On December 28, 2021, Wilks became the first former Thunder player to coach the Thunder as head coach Mark Daigneault entered health and safety protocols.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 31 , , 0 , , 10.5 , , .313 , , .222 , , .889 , , 1.0 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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, 47 , , 4 , , 11.4 , , .468 , , .333 , , .786 , , 1.1 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 8 , , 0 , , 15.3 , , .435 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .6 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .556 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .3 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .500 , , .667 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 4.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 233 , , 11 , , 9.6 , , .402 , , .321 , , .741 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .0 , , 2.5

Playoffs

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, 4 , , 0 , , 1.8 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .8 , - , align="left" , 2004 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 6 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .2 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5

References

External links

NBA.com profile - Mike Wilks
at Basketball-Reference.com
Mike Wilks
at Basketball.realgm.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilks, Mike 1979 births African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American men's basketball players Asseco Gdynia players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Milwaukee Cleveland Cavaliers players Denver Nuggets players Houston Rockets players Huntsville Flight players Living people Mens Sana Basket players Minnesota Timberwolves players Mobile Revelers players Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coaches Oklahoma City Thunder players Point guards Rice Owls men's basketball players San Antonio Spurs players Seattle SuperSonics players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Washington Wizards players Rufus King International High School alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople