June 18, (THEWILL) – Lou Williams, a prominent figure in the NBA for 17 years, has announced his retirement through a video uploaded on YouTube on Sunday.
Having been selected as the Philadelphia 76ers’ second-round draft pick in 2005, Williams established himself as a remarkable scorer off the bench. Throughout his career, he never started more than 38 games in a single season. Notably, Williams joins Jamal Crawford as the only players in NBA history to secure the Sixth Man of the Year award three times, accomplishing this feat between 2015 and 2019.
Despite experiencing a decline in performance in recent seasons, Williams managed to maintain his shooting prowess. Over the past two seasons, the Tennessee native maintained an impressive three-point shooting percentage of 38.5. His ability to provide an energetic boost off the bench made him highly coveted by various teams. Consequently, Williams played for seven different for teams, including the Sixers, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, and Houston Rockets.
Concluding his illustrious career with the Hawks after a trade from the Clippers in March 2021, Williams hinted at the possibility of retirement ahead of the previous season. During an appearance on Brick by Brick, he expressed his readiness to embrace retirement whenever he decided to step away from the game.
With a total of 1,123 regular-season games under his belt, Williams maintained an average of 13.9 points and 3.4 assists per game. Although he did not clinch an NBA championship during his tenure, he did make it to the playoffs 12 times in 17 seasons.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
