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Kevin Willis

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Kevin Willis
Willis at the White House in 2003
Personal information
Born (1962-09-06) September 6, 1962 (age 62)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolJohn J. Pershing (Detroit, Michigan)
College
NBA draft1984: 1st round, 11th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career1984–2005, 2007
PositionPower forward / center
Number42, 41, 43, 45
Career history
1984–1994Atlanta Hawks
1994–1996Miami Heat
1996Golden State Warriors
1996–1998Houston Rockets
1998–2001Toronto Raptors
2001Denver Nuggets
2001–2002Houston Rockets
2002–2004San Antonio Spurs
2004–2005Atlanta Hawks
2007Dallas Mavericks
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points17,523 (12.1 ppg)
Rebounds11,901 (8.4 rpg)
Assists1,328 (0.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Kevin Alvin Willis (born September 6, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player mostly known for playing with the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 7-foot power forward/center. Excluding players not yet eligible, he holds the record for most games played among those not in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Willis is one of fifteen players in NBA history with over 16,000 career points and 11,000 career rebounds. He was named to the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Team in 1992, when he finished the season with a career-high average of 15.5 rebounds a game.[1] Willis holds career averages of 12.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg,[2] and 0.9 apg while averaging 27 minutes per game in 21 NBA seasons. During his 23 years in the league, Willis won one championship, with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003. He shares the second position for most seasons played in the NBA with Robert Parish, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki.

During the 2004–05 season, Willis was the oldest player in the league at age 42,[3] and he would continue to be until his retirement at the conclusion of the 2006–07 season at the age of 44.[2]

Early life

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Born in Los Angeles, Willis graduated from Pershing High School in Detroit and joined the basketball team in his junior year.[4][5]

College career

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Willis played competitively at Jackson College for his freshman season and transferred to Michigan State University, where he would play three seasons[5] as a fashion and textiles major.[6]

Professional career

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Atlanta Hawks (1984–1994)

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He was selected in the 1984 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. On March 11, 1986, Willis scored a career-high 39 points and grabbed 21 rebounds during a 128–116 win over the Denver Nuggets.[7] In total, he played with the Hawks for nine seasons (plus two games of a tenth season) until 1994. Willis teamed with Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, and Doc Rivers to frequently guide the Hawks to playoff appearances as well as providing a fierce rebounding presence in the post. Near the end of his stint with the Hawks, he and Wilkins were both made team captains.

Miami Heat (1994–1996)

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Willis was traded to the Miami Heat in 1994 for Grant Long and Steve Smith. Willis' first season was tumultuous,[8] and the trade was so poorly received in Miami that it indirectly led to the organization seeking to, and eventually succeeding in, hiring Pat Riley to be their new head coach and General Manager.[citation needed]

Golden State Warriors (1996)

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On the 1996 NBA trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors acquired Willis, along with Bimbo Coles, in exchange for Chris Gatling and Tim Hardaway.

Houston Rockets (1996–1998)

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Willis signed with the Houston Rockets in 1996.

Toronto Raptors (1998–2001)

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On June 9, 1998, Willis was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Roy Rogers and two 1998 first-round picks.

Denver Nuggets (2001)

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On January 12, 2001, the Denver Nuggets acquired Willis, Aleksandar Radojević, Garth Joseph, and a 2001 2nd-round pick in a deal that brought Tracy Murray, Keon Clark, and Mamadou N'Diaye to Toronto. He and Radojević were traded together nine months later to the Milwaukee Bucks for Scott Williams and a 2002 second-round pick.

Return to Houston Rockets (2001–2002)

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Without playing a game for the Bucks, Willis was traded back to the Rockets for another 2002 second-round pick.

San Antonio Spurs (2002–2004)

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Willis signed with the San Antonio Spurs. It was in 2003 with the Spurs that he finally won an NBA Championship ring.

Return to Atlanta Hawks (2004–2005)

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Willis returned to the Hawks for one more season in 2004–05, and by doing so, positioned himself to be the oldest player in the league.

Dallas Mavericks (2007)

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On March 30, 2007, The Dallas Morning News reported that Willis needed only to pass a physical to be able to sign with the Western Conference-leading Dallas Mavericks. Willis, who did not play in 2005–06, was reported to take the team's vacant 15th roster spot.[9] The deal became official when he signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks on April 2, 2007.[2] He appeared in five late regular-season games and was on the Mavericks playoff roster as the 12th man but did not play in the Mavericks' shocking early first-round exit. By playing five games during 2006–07, Willis became the oldest person to play more than two games in an NBA season (Providence Steamrollers coach Nat Hickey activated himself for two games in 1948, at 45 years and 363 days old.)[10] Hall of Famer Robert Parish, who – at age 43 – played 43 games with the Chicago Bulls in 1996–97, previously held many of Willis' longevity and age-based records.

Retirement

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Willis ended his playing career after the 2006–07 season, returning to his clothing business, Willis & Walker.[11] The Atlanta-based company, which specializes in custom wear for big and tall men, was founded in 1988 by Willis and his former Michigan State teammate Ralph Walker.[12]

Professional wrestler Lex Luger revealed that Willis made him various suits in his time as a clothier, as well as a white, collared Nehru shirt that he would later prominently wear in his WCW return on Nitro in 1995.[13] Luger knew Willis from years prior, with the former having worked in the Georgia-based promotion originally from 1987 to 1992.

Television appearances

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In 2007, Willis made three appearances on the Spike TV reality show, Pros vs Joes.

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1984–85 Atlanta 82 19 21.8 .467 .221 .657 6.4 .4 .4 .6 9.3
1985–86 Atlanta 82 59 28.0 .517 .000 .654 8.6 .5 .8 .5 12.3
1986–87 Atlanta 81 81 32.4 .536 .250 .709 10.5 .8 .8 .8 16.1
1987–88 Atlanta 75 55 27.9 .518 .000 .649 7.3 .4 .9 .5 11.6
1989–90 Atlanta 81 51 28.1 .519 .286 .683 8.0 .7 .8 .6 12.4
1990–91 Atlanta 80 80 29.7 .504 .400 .668 8.8 1.2 .8 .5 13.1
1991–92 Atlanta 81 80 36.6 .483 .162 .804 15.5 2.1 .9 .7 18.3
1992–93 Atlanta 80 80 36.0 .506 .241 .653 12.9 2.1 .9 .5 17.9
1993–94 Atlanta 80 80 35.8 .499 .375 .713 12.0 1.9 1.0 .5 19.1
1994–95 Atlanta 2 2 44.5 .390 .000 .667 18.0 1.5 .5 1.5 21.0
Miami 65 61 35.4 .469 .214 .691 10.7 1.3 .9 .5 17.1
1995–96 Miami 47 42 28.9 .473 .000 .712 8.9 .7 .4 .5 10.2
Golden State 28 18 27.8 .433 .250 .701 7.8 .7 .5 .6 11.3
1996–97 Houston 75 32 26.2 .481 .143 .693 7.5 .9 .6 .4 11.2
1997–98 Houston 81 74 31.2 .510 .143 .793 8.4 1.0 .7 .5 16.1
1998–99 Toronto 42 38 29.0 .418 .000 .839 8.3 1.6 .7 .7 12.0
1999–00 Toronto 79 1 21.3 .415 .333 .799 6.1 .6 .5 .6 7.6
2000–01 Toronto 35 9 22.0 .461 .000 .753 6.4 .6 .5 .6 8.8
Denver 43 13 24.6 .428 .250 .788 7.2 .7 .9 .7 9.6
2001–02 Houston 52 5 16.7 .440 .000 .747 5.8 .3 .5 .4 6.1
2002–03† San Antonio 71 6 11.8 .479 .000 .614 3.2 .3 .3 .3 4.2
2003–04 San Antonio 48 0 7.8 .467 .000 .615 2.0 .2 .4 .2 3.4
2004–05 Atlanta 29 5 11.9 .389 .000 .739 2.6 .3 .3 .2 3.0
2006–07 Dallas 5 0 8.6 .385 – 1.000 1.6 .2 .4 .2 2.4
Career 1,424 891 26.9 .487 .211 .713 8.4 .9 .7 .5 12.1
All-Star 1 0 14.0 .400 – – 4.0 .0 .0 .0 8.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1986 Atlanta 9 – 31.1 .561 – .652 7.2 .6 .8 .9 13.9
1987 Atlanta 9 – 39.6 .522 – .677 9.2 .7 1.0 .8 15.7
1988 Atlanta 12 – 38.5 .580 .000 .680 9.0 .9 .8 .8 16.2
1991 Atlanta 5 5 31.8 .403 .667 .700 9.0 1.0 .4 .2 15.4
1993 Atlanta 3 3 34.3 .467 .000 .571 8.7 1.0 .7 .0 16.7
1994 Atlanta 11 11 32.9 .457 .000 .762 10.8 1.0 .7 .5 12.2
1997 Houston 16 0 18.4 .400 .000 .684 4.7 .7 .6 .3 6.4
1998 Houston 5 5 33.6 .400 .000 .750 10.6 1.0 1.0 1.6 11.2
2000 Toronto 3 0 25.3 .364 – .750 8.7 .3 .7 .0 13.0
2003† San Antonio 18 0 5.1 .525 1.000 1.000 1.7 .1 .1 .1 2.6
2004 San Antonio 7 0 3.6 .375 .000 .000 .9 .0 .1 .0 .9
Career 98 – 24.3 .484 .214 .692 6.5 .6 .6 .4 9.9

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kevin Willis NBA Player Profile, accessed March 31, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Willis becomes oldest player in Mavs’ history, April 2, 2007
  3. ^ "2004–05 NBA Player Survey Results: Age". NBA.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  4. ^ "Kevin Willis". basketball-reference. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Kevin Willis bio page". NBA. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  6. ^ Pablo S. Torre (July 4, 2011). "Larger Than Real Life". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  7. ^ NBA Roundup : Willis (39) Steals Show in Hawks’ Win
  8. ^ WILLIS BENCHED FOR REFUSING TO TAKE PART IN DRILL
  9. ^ Willis set to sign with Mavs, accessed March 31, 2007.
  10. ^ Whatchoo Talkin' 'Bout Willis? Archived August 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Posted by Rob Peterson, April 3, 2007
  11. ^ Guglielmo, Connie (October 3, 2008). "Apple Wins BlackBerry Defectors With Business iPhones". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
  12. ^ Weissenberg, Tracy (June 25, 2013). "Ex-Hawks star Willis still flying high in world of fashion". nba.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  13. ^ "Lex Luger Shares the Origin of His Infamous Big White Shirt from WCW Nitro". November 3, 2023.
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