Marcus Darell Williams (born December 3, 1985) is an American former 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 (appro ...

player. He played with numerous teams across Europe and Asia. Standing at , he plays the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position. He was selected with the 22nd overall pick in the

2006 NBA draft The 2006 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2006, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. c ...

by the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. Prior to becoming professional player, he played college basketball for the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

(UConn).

High school and college

Williams attended and played for

Crenshaw High School Crenshaw High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located on 11th Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The school first opened in 1968 and currently enrolls arou ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California for his 9th, 10th, and 11th years, and transferred to Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) for his 12th year (2002–2003). During his freshman year at

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

, Williams was suspended for part of the season because of poor grades. As a sophomore in the 2004–05 season, Williams averaged 9.6 points and 7.8 assists a game. He was named Big East Conference Most Improved Player. In his junior year, he was kicked off the men's basketball team for several months, for attempting to sell stolen laptop computers along with teammate A. J. Price. Williams averaged 12.3 points, 8.6 assists, and shot 86% from the free throw line. In a game against Notre Dame, he recorded the sixth

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

in UConn history with 18 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds. In the 2006 NCAA tourney, he averaged 20 points, 8.8 assists, while shooting 52% from the field, 56% from three-point range, and 96% from the free throw line. Williams scored a career-high 26 points in a memorable 98–92

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

Sweet 16 win against Washington on March 24, 2006.

Professional career

NBA career

New Jersey Nets (2006–2008)

Williams was selected 22nd overall in the

by the

, using the pick they got from the Denver Nuggets in a trade for

Kenyon Martin Kenyon Lee Martin Sr. (born December 30, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, Los An ...

. Former teammates Josh Boone,

Rudy Gay Rudy Carlton Gay Jr. (born August 17, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. A forward, he played college basketball for the UConn Huskies before being selected eighth overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, ...

, Hilton Armstrong, and Denham Brown were also selected, with all but Brown being first-round picks. Marcus Williams was named to the Rookie team for the 2007

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...

Rookie Challenge at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend. As a rookie in 2006–07, Williams played in 79 games, averaging 6.8 ppg and 3.3 apg.

Golden State Warriors (2008–2009)

On July 22, 2008, Marcus Williams was traded by the Nets 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 Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

for a conditional first-round pick. On March 10, 2009, he was released by the team.

Memphis Grizzlies (2009–2010)

In July 2009, Williams began playing on 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 Southwest Division of the ...

Summer League team in Las Vegas, Nevada. He joined

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

first-round pick

Hasheem Thabeet Hasheem Thabeet (born Hashim Thabit Manka; 16 February 1987) is a Tanzanian professional basketball player who currently plays for Dar City. He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies before being drafted second overall in the 2009 NBA ...

, undrafted rookie free agent Jeff Adrien, and

as one of four former

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of ...

on the Grizzlies' Summer League roster. On August 7, 2009, Williams officially signed with the Grizzlies.

International career

Piratas de Quebradillas (2009)

Williams signed with

Piratas de Quebradillas ''Piratas'' () is a Spanish adventure drama television series with comedy elements created by Carlos Portela and which stars Óscar Jaenada, Pilar Rubio and Silvia Abascal. It aired on Telecinco in 2011. Premise Set in the 18th century, the fi ...

of the Puerto Rican Basketball League (BSN) in late March 2009. During the first half of the season, Williams averaged 15.0 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists. He had registered one triple-double and was the league-leader in assists. He was also selected to play in the league's All-Star game and won the game's MVP award, as well as winning the Skills Contest. He also finished the season earning All-BSN First Team honors with teammate Peter John Ramos, and helping the Pirates to the best record in the league. Because he went to the

' summer league team and left the Pirates, he missed the league finals, and the Pirates lost the championship.

Enisey Krasnoyark (2010–2011)

In August 2010, Williams signed a one-year contract with the Russian team Enisey Krasnoyarsk. Quickly becoming leader of his new team, Williams helped Enisey qualify to playoff for the first time in club's history. In quarterfinals Enisey lost series to Lokomotiv-Kuban (1:2). Williams was named "Player of the Month" in Russian PBL League in November and December. He was also selected All-Star 2nd team. Williams finished season with 14.8 points per game and as league's best in total assists (184) and assist per game (6.8).

Jiangsu Dragons (2011–2012)

In late November 2011, Williams signed a contract with the Jiangsu Dragons of China. In 25 games, he averaged 11.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 25.8 minutes.

Unicaja Málaga (2012–2013)

In 2012, Williams signed a one-year contract with the Spanish team Unicaja Málaga. In 53 games, he averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 22.2 minutes.

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (2013–2014)

On August 19, 2013, Williams signed a contract with the Russian team Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. In 47 games, he averaged 9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 25.6 minutes.

Crvena zvezda (2014–2015)

On August 15, 2014, Williams signed a one-year deal with Serbian team

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. On November 22, 2014, in a game against

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

, Williams set a Euroleague record for the most assists in a single game (17). He also added 8 points while shooting just 3–16 from the field. However, his team lost after double overtime with 110–103. With Crvena zvezda, he won the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, ...

championship, the

Serbian League The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League. History 1992–1995 In the summer o ...

championship and the

Radivoj Korać Cup The Radivoj Korać Cup ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Куп Радивоја Кораћа, Kup Radivoja Koraća) is the men's national basketball cup of Serbia. It is run by the Basketball Federation of Serbia and is named after Serbian basketball legend and ...

. On November 3, 2015, he re-signed with Crvena zvezda, but on December 28, 2015, he and the team parted ways.

Budućnost Podgorica (2016–2017)

On July 27, 2016, Williams signed with Montenegrin club Budućnost Podgorica for the 2016–17 season. On March 26, 2017, he was released by Budućnost. In 27 league games, he averaged 10.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 25.4 minutes, while averaging 12.3 points, 1.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 27. minutes in 7 Eurocup games.

Cholet Basket (2017)

On 29 March 2017, Williams signed with

Cholet Basket Cholet Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Cholet, France. The club plays in the LNB Pro A. Their home arena is La Meilleraie. Established in 1975, Cholet won its first French championship in the 2009–10 season. In 1998 and ...

for the rest of the season. In 9 games, he averaged, 8.3 points, 2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 23.1 minutes.

Reno Bighorns (2017–2018)

On September 26, 2017, Williams signed with 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. On October 10, 2017, he was waived by the Kings after appearing in two pre-season games. On October 21, he signed with the

Reno Bighorns Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, in the Truckee River v ...

, where he averaged 10.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 26.6 minutes in 49 games.

Second Stint with Piratas de Quebradillas (2018)

On April 26, 2018, Williams was reported to have signed with Piratas de Quebradillas of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

Stockton Kings (2018–2019)

For the 2018–19 season, Williams re-joined the G League with the

Stockton Kings The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Stockton, California, and are affiliated with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings play their home games at the Adventist Health Arena and compete in the G ...

. On February 5, 2019, Williams was suspended for five games without pay for violating the terms of the league's anti-drug program.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 79 , , 2 , , 16.6 , , .395 , , .282 , , .847 , , 2.1 , , 3.3 , , .4 , , .0 , , 6.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 53 , , 7 , , 16.1 , , .379 , , .380 , , .787 , , 1.9 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , .1 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Golden State , 9 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .235 , , .333 , , .333 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Memphis , 62 , , 1 , , 14.1 , , .384 , , .296 , , .673 , , 1.5 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , .0 , , 4.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 203 , , 10 , , 15.2 , , .386 , , .321 , , .767 , , 1.8 , , 2.8 , , .4 , , .0 , , 5.6

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, align="left" ,

, 12 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .333 , , .077 , , .800 , , .8 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .333 , , .077 , , .800 , , .8 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.4

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;", Unicaja , 24 , , 5 , , 21.7 , , .362 , , .371 , , .667 , , 2.7 , , 3.3 , , .6 , , .0 , , 10.5 , , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Lokomotiv , 24 , , 10 , , 23.0 , , .331 , , .278 , , .756 , , 2.2 , , 3.8 , , .3 , , .0 , , 7.3 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 23 , , 25.8 , , .317 , , .292 , , .755 , , 3.2 , , 6.1 , , .8 , , .0 , , 9.7 , , 10.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 72 , , 38 , , 25.5 , , .337 , , .318 , , .723 , , 2.7 , , 4.4 , , .6 , , .0 , , 8.9 , , 9.0