Reggie Williams

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The Nuggets, for Reggie Williams, were without question the safety net that saved his career.

Bernie Bickerstaff was the general manager who made it happen. He coveted Williams out of college while he was GM of the Seattle SuperSonics, but could not get him. But Bickerstaff made good on getting Williams when he was making personnel decisions for the Nuggets.

And Williams paid the Nuggets back as only he knew how – with the best years of his career both from a production and leadership standpoint.

The Nuggets never needed him more than in their famed playoff run of 1994. Williams, then 30, was the elder statesman. A Nuggets team that averaged under 25 years of age, was in need of wisdom. Williams had that. He also pulled 31 points and eight assists out of his hat in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Sonics, helping the Nuggets stave off elimination and gain the momentum needed to pull of what was then the biggest upset in NBA playoff history.

Williams’ path to the Nuggets was arduous. A flat-out star at Georgetown, and senior leader of a team Hoyas coach John Thompson dubbed “Reggie and the Miracles,” Williams was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the fourth overall pick in 1987. The Clippers basically had not scouted him at all and didn’t have real ideas on how they would use him. Bickerstaff, meanwhile, had done plenty of homework on Williams and wanted to draft him in Seattle with the fifth pick. But it was one pick too late.

Williams bounced around the NBA map in his first four years, going from the Clippers to the Cavaliers to the Spurs before, finally, San Antonio waived him on Christmas Eve. That’s right. Christmas Eve.

By then, however, Bickerstaff had moved on to the Nuggets. He didn’t miss his second chance to nab Williams, quickly picking up the phone to get him to town and secure his services.

And with the Nuggets, Williams soared. In six seasons with the Nuggets – five full – he’s 10th in points (5,934), seventh in steals (632) and 10th in field goals made (2,359). He averaged 14.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 419 games in Denver. His best season was the 1991-92 campaign in which he averaged 18.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals.

In the end, for an East Coast native, who grew up in Baltimore and starred in the area at Georgetown, the Mile High City turned out to be the perfect fit.

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Nuggets of the 90s: Reggie Williams

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90s Night: Robert Pack, Tom Hammonds, Reggie Williams

According to Basketball Reference, 55 players with the last name Williams have suited up for an NBA team.

You could create a starting lineup and a second unit with the ones who played in Denver.

Continuing a month-long tribute to the most memorable and notable players in franchise history, we are taking a look at the Nuggets from A to Z.

From Aaron to Shelden, there have been 10 Williams – Williamses? – to play for the Nuggets since Denver joined the NBA in 1976. Chuck, Eric, Monty, Pete, Reggie, Rob, Scott and Shammond are the other eight.

The most accomplished of that group was Reggie Williams, a wiry small forward who served as the veteran leader on the historic 1993-94 team that upset the top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Selected fourth overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1987 NBA Draft, Williams bounced from L.A. to the Cleveland Cavaliers to the San Antonio Spurs before signing as a free agent with Denver on Jan. 5, 1991.

The rise continued in 1991-92 as Williams led Denver in scoring (18.2 ppg) while playing alongside NBA All-Rookie First Team center Dikembe Mutombo. The Nuggets added more young talent when they drafted LaPhonso Ellis and Bryant Stith in 1992 and Rodney Rogers in 1993.

At 29 years old, Williams was the oldest player on Denver’s roster when the Nuggets secured the No. 8 seed in the 1994 playoffs. They lost the first two games against heavily favored Seattle before Williams scored 31 points to help shift the momentum in Denver’s Game 3 rout at McNichols Arena.

The Nuggets went on to win Games 4 and 5, becoming the first No. 8 seed in NBA history to advance out of the first round. Williams averaged 14.3 points during Denver’s playoff run that ended with a Game 7 loss to the Utah Jazz in the conference semifinals.

Williams went on to play two more seasons with the Nuggets before being traded to the Indiana Pacers on June 13, 1996. He returned to Denver last spring as the Nuggets celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 1993-94 team.

Williams hit his first nine shots en route to a career-high 35 points as the Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets 112-105 at McNichols Arena. Williams scored 18 points on 8-for-8 shooting in the first quarter. Dikembe Mutombo (15 points, 17 rebounds) and LaPhonso Ellis (15 points, 11 rebounds) added double-doubles for Denver.

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Denver Nuggets A to Z: Reggie Williams

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