AEK signs a big name
AEK Athens officially signed former NBA No. 2 draft pick Derrick Williams to a 1+1 year deal. The 35-year-old veteran, who played 428 NBA games and reached the 2017 NBA Finals with Cleveland, returns to Greece after previously playing for Panathinaikos in the 2022/23 season.
AEK Athens officially signed former NBA No. 2 draft pick Derrick Williams to a 1+1 year contract. The move brings the veteran forward back to Greece, following an NBA career that included 428 games played and a trip to the Finals in 2017 with Cleveland.
The 35-year-old is already in Greece, returning to a country where he previously played for Panathinaikos during the 2022/23 season. This move brings the former NBA lottery pick back to European basketball after recent stints in Puerto Rico and South Korea.
Williams boasts extensive EuroLeague experience, having worn the jerseys of Bayern Munich, Fenerbahçe, Valencia, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Panathinaikos. Across 160 total EuroLeague games, the 6'8" forward averaged 11.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in just over 25 minutes per game. His last EuroLeague season came with Panathinaikos in 2022/23, after which he continued his career outside Europe.
Before establishing himself on the continent, Williams arrived in the NBA with significant expectations. The Minnesota Timberwolves selected him No. 2 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, right after Cleveland took Kyrie Irving with the first pick. Williams entered the league after two seasons at the University of Arizona, where in his sophomore year he averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds.
He spent his first two full NBA seasons with Minnesota before being traded to the Sacramento Kings in November 2013. He later played for the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and Cleveland Cavaliers, also appearing in two games for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. His best NBA season came in 2012/13 with Minnesota, when he averaged 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds across 78 games played.
Williams also reached the NBA Finals with Cleveland in 2017, appearing in eight playoff games during the Cavaliers' run, though in a limited role, as the team ultimately fell to the Golden State Warriors. Overall, Williams has 428 NBA regular-season games under his belt, 112 as a starter, averaging 8.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 20.7 minutes per game, with a career field goal percentage of 43.4%.