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Kenrich Williams

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Kenrich Williams
No. 34 – Oklahoma City Thunder
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1994-12-02) December 2, 1994 (age 30)
Waco, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolUniversity (Waco, Texas)
College
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2020New Orleans Pelicans
2018→Westchester Knicks
2018→Texas Legends
2020–presentOklahoma City Thunder
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Kenrich Lo Williams (/ˈkɛnrɪtʃ/ KEN-ritch;[1] born December 2, 1994), nicknamed "Kenny Hustle",[2] is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the TCU Horned Frogs of the Big 12 Conference.

High school career

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Williams attended University High School in Waco, Texas and joined the varsity team as a junior under coach Rodney Smith. As a senior, Williams averaged 14.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. He earned District 8-4A defensive player of the year honors and led the squad to a 28–5 record. Coming out of high school, Williams did not receive a single Division I offer. He attributes this to playing only one season of AAU ball.[3]

College career

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Williams attended New Mexico Junior College and averaged 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in his freshman season. He was recruited to TCU, which went winless in conference games in the season before his arrival. Williams posted 8.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore on an 18–15 team. Williams missed the entire 2015–16 season due to a knee injury which required surgery, calling it one of the toughest years of his basketball career as TCU struggled to 12 wins.[3]

As a fourth-year junior, Williams averaged 11.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor. He had 19 double-doubles, leading the Big 12, and helped lead the team to a 24–15 season. Williams had 18 points and eight rebounds in the 85–82 upset of Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.[3] In the second round of the 2017 NIT, an 86–68 win over Richmond, Williams recorded the first triple-double in TCU history with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.[4] After posting 25 points and 12 rebounds in the NIT championship game versus Georgia Tech, Williams was named NIT Most Valuable Player.[3]

Coming into his senior season, Williams was a Preseason Big 12 Honorable Mention.[5] On December 6, 2017, Williams scored a career-high 27 points in a 94–83 win over SMU.[6] He sat out a game on December 22, against William & Mary, due to a knee sprain.[7] As a senior, Williams posted 13.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, second in the Big 12 Conference. Williams was selected to the USBWA All-District VII and NABC All-District 8 Second Team.[8] He was named to the Second Team All-Big 12.[9] He led TCU to a 21–12 record and #6 seed in the NCAA tournament. In his final game as a Horned Frog, a 57–52 upset loss to Syracuse, Williams scored 14 points.[10]

In 2024, Williams' number 34 jersey was retired by TCU.[11]

Professional career

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New Orleans Pelicans (2018–2020)

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After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Williams signed with the Denver Nuggets for NBA Summer League play.[12] On July 24, Williams signed a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.[13] Williams later made his professional, NBA debut on October 17, 2018, in a blowout win over the Houston Rockets. During his rookie season, he was assigned to the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League, making his G League debut on November 23.[14] On January 30, 2019, Williams set a new career high in scoring with 21 points, and set personal bests in field goals (eight), three-pointers (five), assists (three) and minutes (38) in a 99–105 loss to the Denver Nuggets.[15]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–present)

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On November 24, 2020, Williams was part of a four-team trade in which he was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[16]

On July 20, 2022, Williams re-signed with the Thunder on a four-year, $27.2 million contract extension.[17][18] On March 2, 2023, the Thunder announced that he suffered a left wrist injury and would undergo surgery to address the issue, ending his 2022–23 season.[19]

On February 7, 2023, LeBron James broke the all-time NBA scoring record whilst being defended by Williams.

On September 18, 2024, Williams underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his right knee.[20]

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

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 New Orleans 46 29 23.5 .384 .333 .684 4.8 1.8 1.0 .4 6.1
2019–20 New Orleans 39 18 21.3 .347 .258 .346 4.8 1.5 .7 .5 3.5
2020–21 Oklahoma City 66 13 21.6 .533 .444 .571 4.1 2.3 .8 .3 8.0
2021–22 Oklahoma City 49 0 21.9 .461 .339 .545 4.5 2.2 .9 .2 7.4
2022–23 Oklahoma City 53 10 22.8 .517 .373 .436 4.9 2.0 .8 .3 8.0
2023–24 Oklahoma City 69 1 14.9 .468 .397 .500 3.0 1.3 .6 .1 4.7
Career 322 71 20.6 .468 .360 .519 4.2 1.9 .8 .3 6.4

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2024 Oklahoma City 7 0 4.5 .250 .000 — 1.1 .4 .1 .0 .6
Career 7 0 4.5 .250 .000 — 1.1 .4 .1 .0 .6

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 TCU 33 17 27.8 .477 .355 .607 6.7 1.4 .9 1.0 8.6
2016–17 TCU 37 36 32.7 .495 .363 .586 9.7 2.7 1.5 .6 11.4
2017–18 TCU 32 32 36.0 .477 .395 .688 9.3 3.9 1.8 .5 13.2
Career 102 85 32.2 .484 .375 .625 8.6 2.7 1.4 .7 11.0

Personal life

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Williams is married and has two daughters.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide" (Press release). National Basketball Association. October 24, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  2. ^ Mendez, Carlos (January 12, 2017). "Who is Kenny Hustle? TCU's, and the Big 12's, leading rebounder". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Werner, John (April 6, 2017). "University's Kenrich Williams turning heads at TCU". Waco Tribune. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "First triple-double for TCU sinks Richmond 86-68 in NIT". ESPN. Associated Press. March 22, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  5. ^ Mendez, Carlos (October 12, 2017). "Guess what TCU player got snubbed on the Big 12 preseason basketball team". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  6. ^ "No. 20 TCU extends win streak to 13 with 94-83 win over SMU". ESPN. Associated Press. December 6, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  7. ^ Straka, Dean (December 22, 2017). "TCU guard Kenrich Williams sustains knee injury, absent vs. William & Mary". Springfield News-Sun. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  8. ^ Wilkerson, William (May 7, 2018). "This TCU player has been invited to NBA Draft Combine". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  9. ^ "Men's Basketball All-Big 12 Awards Announced" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. March 4, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Retreivers(sic) shock top seed Virginia". Longview Daily News. Associated Press. March 16, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  11. ^ "TCU to Retire Williams' Jersey". TCU Athletics. January 10, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  12. ^ Werner, John (June 22, 2018). "University's Williams taking free agent route to NBA". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  13. ^ "Pelicans sign Garlon Green and Kenrich Williams". NBA.com. July 24, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  14. ^ "Pelicans assign Kenrich Williams to Westchester Knicks". NBA.com. November 22, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  15. ^ Brown, Nathan (January 30, 2019). "Rookie Kenrich Williams' career night not enough as Pelicans fall to the Nuggets 105-99". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  16. ^ "Thunder Acquires George Hill, Zylan Cheatham, Josh Gray, Darius Miller, Kenrich Williams, One First and Two Second-Round Draft Picks and a Trade Exception". NBA.com. November 24, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  17. ^ "Thunder Signs Kenrich Williams to a Multi-Year Contract Extension". nba.com. July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  18. ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian (July 18, 2022). "Sources: Thunder extend Williams on 4-year deal". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  19. ^ "Thunder Injury Update". NBA.com. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  20. ^ "Kenrich Williams Undergoes Right Knee Procedure, Will Be Re-Evaluated After Preseason". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  21. ^ Martinez, Justin (February 3, 2024). "TCU basketball retires Kenrich Williams' jersey. 'Just a blessing' for OKC Thunder forward". The Oklahoman. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
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