Kelly Williams

Infobox NBA Player
name = Kelly Williams
nickname = The Machine Gun


league = Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 7
weight_lbs = 215
team = Sta. Lucia Realtors
position = Small Forward
birth_date = February 7, 1982 age|1982|2|2
birth_place = flagicon|Michigan Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
college = Oakland University
nationality = American
nationality_2 = Filipino
draft = 1st
draft_league = PBA Draft
draft_team = Sta. Lucia Realtors
draft_year = 2006
career_start = 2006
former_teams = PBL: Magnolia PBA: Sta. Lucia Realtors
career_end =
awards =PBA Most Valuable Player (2007-08)
PBA Rookie of the Year (2006-07)

Kelly Williams (born February 2, 1982 in Detroit, Michigan, USA) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player currently playing with the Sta. Lucia Realtors of the Philippine Basketball Association, and is the reigning Most Valuable Player of the league. He plays in the forward position. He is a prolific scorer and also a dunk artist.

High school career

Kelly Williams was a 2000 graduate of Detroit's Martin Luther King High School. He earned four varsity letters in basketball under head coach Benny White in the tough Detroit PSL basketball league. He was elected co-captain for the Crusaders in 1999-00. He was named all-league in 1999 and 2000 and all-district and all-state in 2000. He averaged 15 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, three steals and two assists per game as a senior. The Crusaders were ranked as high as #1 in the state his senior year and was defeated in the semi-final round at the state championships. MLKHS recorded a 68-16 record in his four years.

Collegiate career

Kelly Williams attended Oakland University for four years, with the highlight of his career coming his freshman year when the Grizzlies upset the University of Michigan.

2000-2001: Williams scored 18 points in Oakland's upset of Michigan on Nov. 17, 2000.

2001-2002: Williams played in every game for the Golden Grizzlies as a sophomore.

2002-2003: Williams played in every game for a third straight year for OU in 2002-03, finishing third on the squad in rebounding.

2003-2004: Williams had a solid senior season, ranking among the team leaders in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

Amateur career

The 25-year-old high-leaper played for Magnolia in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) where he averaged team-bests 17.1 points and 12.8 rebounds per game in the Unity Cup, aside from countless highlight-reel slams.

Professional career

Kelly Williams’ versatility gives coach Boyet Fernandez a lot of options as the 6-7 national team pool member can play big or small.

The high-flying, slam-dunking Williams, the top pick of the 2006 PBA Draft, was the unanimous choice for the 2007 Rookie of the Year award amassing 2951 points. He humbled Arwind Santos (677) – the second draft pick overall behind Williams and his former teammate at Magnolia in the PBL – and San Miguel’s L.A. Tenorio (181) to become only the second Sta. Lucia Player to win ROY after Jun Limpot in 1993.

Williams also made it to the First Mythical Team along with Alaska's Willie Miller, Air21's Gary David, Talk N Text’s Jay Washington and San Miguel’s Dorian Peña.

Notes:

He wears No.21 on his Sta. Lucia jersey