deron williams · Biography

On March 4, 2012, against the Charlotte Bobcats, Deron Williams scored 57 points for the New Jersey Nets. It was his career high and, at the time, a franchise record. Deron Michael Williams was born on June 26, 1984, in Parkersburg, West Virginia. A point guard, he was taken third overall by the Utah Jazz in the 2005 draft. He played in the NBA from 2005 to 2017 with the Jazz, the Nets, the Dallas Mavericks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he won two Olympic gold medals with the United States.

Texas and Illinois

Although he was born in West Virginia, Williams grew up in Texas and attended The Colony High School in the town of the same name. His team reached the Texas 5A state semifinals in 2001 and 2002 and lost both times. Bill Self recruited him to the University of Illinois, where he played three seasons from 2002, first under Self and then under Bruce Weber. He was named First-Team All-Big Ten in 2004 and 2005. As a junior he led the Illini to the national championship game on April 4, 2005, in St. Louis. North Carolina won 75-70, and Williams scored 17 points in Illinois’ second-half comeback. He was named to the All-Tournament Team and was a consensus second-team All-American. He left college averaging 11.0 points and 5.9 assists over 101 games.

Utah Jazz (2005-2011)

Utah drafted him third overall in 2005, and he made the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2006. Playing for Jerry Sloan, he soon took charge of the offense. In 2007 the Jazz reached the Western Conference Finals and lost to the San Antonio Spurs. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2008 and 2010. He made his All-Star debut in 2010, in Arlington, Texas, and was selected again in 2011. On February 23, 2011, Utah traded him to the New Jersey Nets for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, two first-round picks and $3 million in cash.

Besiktas and the Nets (2011-2015)

During the 2011 NBA lockout he signed a one-year deal with Besiktas in Turkey. He played 15 games there and scored 50 points against Göttingen on November 22, 2011. The club later retired his No. 8 jersey. Back in New Jersey he scored 57 points against Charlotte and earned his third All-Star selection in 2012, this time for the East. On July 11, 2012, he re-signed with the Nets for five years and $98.7 million as the franchise moved to Brooklyn. On March 8, 2013, against the Washington Wizards, he made nine three-pointers in the first half, an NBA record for a half. He finished the game with 11 threes and 42 points. Brooklyn waived him on July 11, 2015, buying out the last two seasons of his contract.

Dallas and Cleveland (2015-2017)

On July 14, 2015, he signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks. He re-signed on July 8, 2016, for one year and $10 million, and Dallas waived him on February 23, 2017. Four days later he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers. As Kyrie Irving’s backup he played in all 18 of Cleveland’s games in the 2017 playoffs, which ended with a loss to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. Those were his last NBA games. Over the regular season he played 845 games and totaled 13,804 points (16.3 per game) and 6,819 assists (8.1 per game).

Team USA

At youth level he won bronze at the 2002 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship. With the senior team he won gold at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas. At the Olympics he won the gold medal in Beijing in 2008 and the gold medal in London in 2012.

A turn in the ring

On November 5, 2021, it was announced that he would make his boxing debut on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury. Four days later his opponent was revealed: former NFL running back Frank Gore. The bout took place on December 18, 2021, in Tampa, Florida, and Williams won it by split decision over four rounds.