Tavares Montgomery Williams (born October 8, 1971) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and a former player and executive who is the head coach for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA). Williams played for five NBA teams during a playing career that spanned from 1994 to 2003. His NBA coaching career has included stints as an assistant coach, as an associate head coach, and as a head coach. Williams was the head coach for the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans from until . He served as an assistant coach with the United States national team under Mike Krzyzewski, and he has worked as a vice president of basketball operations for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. In May 2019, Williams was hired as the head coach of the

. In 2021, he led the Suns to their first

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

appearance since 1993. He was named the

NBA Coach of the Year The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who le ...

in 2022, when the Suns finished the regular season with a franchise-record 64 wins.

Playing career

As a small forward from the University of Notre Dame, Williams was an honorable mention

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n, averaging 22.4 points and 8.4 rebounds during his senior season. Williams was an NBA first-round pick despite a pre-existing heart condition. He was selected by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

in the first round (24th overall) of the 1994 NBA draft. Williams played in nine NBA seasons from 1994 to 2003. He played for the Knicks until 1996, when he was traded alongside Charles Smith to the

for

Brad Lohaus Bradley Allen Lohaus (born September 29, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round (45th pick overall) of the 1987 NBA Draft. A 6'11" center- power forward from the Unive ...

J.R. Reid Herman "J. R." Reid Jr. (born March 31, 1968) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Monmouth Hawks men's basketball team. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the ...

and a future first round pick that became John Wallace. In 1999, he signed with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

but was released within a month. The

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

claimed Williams off waivers and he stayed with the team until 2002, when he joined the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

in free agency. In 2003, Williams was re-acquired by the Orlando Magic in a trade sending a conditional pick swap to Orlando. He was waived by the Magic three days later, effectively ending his basketball career. In his NBA career, Williams played in 456 games, scored a total of 2,884 points and averaged 6.3 points per game. Chronic knee problems forced him into retirement in 2003.

Coaching career

In spring 2005, Williams won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

as a coaching staff intern with the San Antonio Spurs. In fall 2005, Williams was hired by new head coach

Nate McMillan Nathaniel McMillan (born August 3, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, the Po ...

as an assistant coach for the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. On June 29, 2015, Williams became the associate head coach of 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 ...

. On June 1, 2016, it was announced that Williams would not return with the Thunder. On June 4, 2018,

Brett Brown Brett William Brown (born February 16, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Brown is a former college basketball player who previously ...

announced that Williams would join his staff in Philadelphia as the lead assistant coach, his first coaching job in two seasons.

New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans

On June 7, 2010, Williams was offered a three-year contract to be the head coach of the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. At the date of hiring, Williams became the youngest head coach in the NBA at 38 years old. In his first season with the Hornets, the team finished with a 46–36 record and made the playoffs. On August 18, 2012, Williams accepted a four-year contract extension from the Hornets (later renamed as the Pelicans). On June 9, 2013, Williams accepted an assistant coach role with the U.S. national team, along with

Jim Boeheim James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Syracuse Orange men's team of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Boeheim has guided the Orange to ten Big East Conference ...

and

Tom Thibodeau Thomas Joseph Thibodeau Jr. ( ; born January 17, 1958) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He served as an assistant coach for the United States men's national ...

, for the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil. The

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

finished the 2014–15 season with a 45–37 record before losing to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

in the first round of the playoffs. On May 12, 2015, Williams was let go after five seasons as head coach of the Pelicans, compiling a 173–221 regular season record and going 2–8 in the playoffs.

Phoenix Suns

In May 2019, the

announced they had signed Williams as the team's head coach on a five-year deal. The Suns compiled a 26–39 record in his first season coaching them before the season was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The Suns were later invited to the 2020 NBA Bubble in order to play eight seeding games, where Williams coached the Suns to an 8–0 record, improving their overall record that season to 34–39. Despite this, the Suns failed to qualify for the play-in tournament to enter the 2020 NBA playoffs. On November 16, 2020, Williams reunited with star point guard

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one o ...

after last coaching him back in 2011 when they were with the New Orleans Hornets. After the conclusion of the 2020–21 season Williams was named NBCA Coach of the Year. He also finished second in the

voting behind

. The Suns finished the season with a 51–21 record, clinching the division and the second seed in the Western Conference. Williams coached the Suns to a first round series victory over the defending champion

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in six games, and a sweep of the

in the conference semifinals. Williams then coached the Suns to a Western Conference Finals victory over the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

in six games, advancing the Suns to the NBA Finals for the first time since

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. This is also the first Finals appearance for Williams in his coaching career. Facing 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 196 ...

, the Suns would lose in six games. On December 27, 2021, Williams was placed in the Suns

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

protocol. On January 30, 2022, Williams was named as the Western Conference head coach for the

2022 NBA All-Star Game The 2022 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition game played on February 20, 2022, during the National Basketball Association's 2021–22 season. It was the 71st edition of the NBA All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the Cleveland Cavaliers at Roc ...

as a result of his team's NBA-best record at a league-best 40–9 record this season. Williams and the Suns were the 1st team to clinch a playoff birth on the season with a 53-13 record. The Suns finished the season with franchise record for wins, compiling 64 wins to 18 losses. Williams was selected for his second consecutive NBCA Coach of the Year award. On March 9, 2022 , Williams was named the 2022

leading the Suns to a franchise record in wins at 64-18 and the best record in the league after finishing 2nd the year prior in the voting .

Executive career

In 2016, Williams became the vice president of basketball operations for the

. On June 26, 2017, while serving as vice president for the Spurs, Williams was selected as the winner of the

Sager Strong Award The Sager Strong Award is an annual award given by the National Basketball Association. It is presented to "an individual who has been a trailblazer while exemplifying courage, faith, compassion, and grace." The award was created in 2017 to honor t ...

during the first NBA Awards show.

Personal life

On February 10, 2016, Williams' wife, Ingrid, died from injuries sustained from a car crash in Oklahoma City after her car was struck head-on by a vehicle that crossed lanes after losing control. The couple had five children together. Williams is a Christian.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 14, , 0, , 4.4, , .318, , –, , .625, , 1.2, , .3, , .1, , .0, , 1.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 17, , 0, , 7.2, , .435, , .000, , .750, , 1.4, , .2, , .2, , .1, , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65, , 26, , 20.7, , .509, , .000, , .645, , 3.2, , 1.4, , .8, , .8, , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72, , 16, , 18.3, , .448, , .500, , .670, , 2.5, , 1.2, , .5, , .3, , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-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 ...

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Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, 75, , 23, , 20.0, , .489, , .400, , .741, , 3.3, , 1.4, , .6, , .2, , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82, , 0, , 14.8, , .447, , .077, , .639, , 3.0, , 1.0, , .4, , .2, , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68, , 19, , 18.9, , .547, , .000, , .657, , 3.5, , 1.4, , .7, , .3, , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 21, , 2, , 13.1, , .425, , .000, , .750, , 2.1, , 1.2, , .6, , .2, , 4.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 456, , 109, , 16.7, , .481, , .111, , .665, , 2.8, , 1.2, , .6, , .3, , 6.3

Playoffs

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, 1, , 0, , 4.0, , 1.000, , –, , –, , .0, , .0, , .0, , .0, , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7, , 0, , 4.1, , .222, , –, , .500, , 1.0, , .0, , .0, , .0, , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5, , 0, , 5.6, , .625, , –, , .667, , 1.2, , .2, , .0, , .0, , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3, , 0, , 4.7, , .750, , –, , .333, , 2.0, , .0, , .0, , .7, , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 3, , 23.3, , .519, , .000, , .600, , 5.5, , 2.3, , .8, , .0, , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 0, , 9.6, , .348, , .000, , .750, , 1.5, , .0, , .2, , .0, , 1.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 30, , 3, , 8.8, , .466, , .000, , .577, , 1.9, , .3, , .2, , .1, , 2.8

Head coaching record

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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 46, , 36, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in

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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, style="text-align:left;", , 66, , 21, , 45, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 27, , 55, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 34, , 48, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 45, , 37, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Southwest, , 4, , 0, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , style="text-align:left;", , 73, , 34, , 39, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in

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, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , style="text-align:left;", , 72, , 51, , 21, , , , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Pacific, , 22, , 14, , 8, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 64, , 18, , , , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Pacific, , 13, , 7, , 6, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conference Semifinals , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 610, , 322, , 299, , , , , , 45, , 23, , 22, , , ,

References

External links

*
Monty Williams, Coaching With a Servant's Heart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Monty 1971 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Maryland Basketball coaches from Virginia Basketball players from Maryland Basketball players from Virginia Denver Nuggets players New Orleans Hornets head coaches New Orleans Pelicans head coaches New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coaches Orlando Magic players Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Suns head coaches Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches San Antonio Spurs executives San Antonio Spurs players Small forwards Sportspeople from Fredericksburg, Virginia