NBA.com: Micheal Williams Bio

Once he earned a starting job, point guard Micheal Williams became one of the sharpest defenders and finest free throw shooters in the NBA. But after several strong seasons with Minnesota, an injured heel has limited him to a total of just 37 games played in five seasons, from 1994-95 through 1998-99. Williams was a ballhandling star at Baylor, where he set school records for both assists and steals. On top of that, his 1,855 points ranked second in school history. He twice made the All-Southwestern Conference First Team and also won a spot on the SWC All-Academic Team. Williams was fortunate enough to be drafted in the second round (48th pick overall) by a peaking Detroit Pistons organization in 1988. Playing behind Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson, Williams collected an NBA championship ring, although he didn't see very much action. He spent the following season with the Phoenix Suns, the CBA's Rapid City Thrillers and then the Charlotte Hornets. He finally found some security with the Indiana Pacers, for whom he became a defensive specialist. After appearing in 73 games as a backup to Vern Fleming in 1990-91, Williams became the Pacers' starting point guard in 1991-92. He had an outstanding all-around season, averaging 15.0 points and 8.2 assists while placing second in the league in steals with 2.95 per game. Williams was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for his efforts. Prior to the 1992-93 season Williams was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Chuck Person for Pooh Richardson and Sam Mitchell. Williams continued his ball-hawking exploits in Minnesota, ranking eighth in the league in steals in 1992-93. He also set career highs in points (15.1 ppg) and assists (8.7 apg) and finished fourth in the league in free throw percentage, shooting a club-record .907 from the line. He closed out the season by sinking an NBA-record 84 consecutive free throws, a streak that ended the following November at 97. A month later he tied a Timberwolves record by dishing out 17 assists in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers. After another solid season in 1993-94, Williams played only one game in 1994-95 because of a torn tendon in his left heel. That injury also limited him to just nine games in 1995-96, and he sat out the entire 1996-97 campaign while recovering from the plantar fascia injury to his left heel. Williams played in 25 games in a reserve role in 1997-98, his most action since 1993-94. He averaged 2.6 points and 1.3 assists per game. He was obtained by Toronto on January 21, 1999 in a three-way trade that also involved Denver, but played in only two games for the Raptors in 1998-99, spending most of the season on the injured list due to plantar fasciaitis in his left foot. Toronto renounced its rights to Williams on August 1, 1999, making him a free agent.

1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Placed on the injured list on 3/16 due to a sore left foot On the injured list from 2/4 to 3/11 due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot

1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
On the injured list from 10/30 to 12/22, missing the first 24 games of the season, due to a sore right hamstring

1996-1997 REGULAR SEASON
Williams spent the entire 1996-97 season on Minnesota's injured list, recovering from a plantar fascia injury to his left heel. He has played just 10 games over the past three seasons.

1995-1996 REGULAR SEASON
Williams played in only nine games in 1995-96 due to a pantar fascia strain in his left heel. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 assists in his seven starts and two appearances off the bench. He was placed on the injured list on Dec. 5 and remained there for the rest of the season.

1994-1995 REGULAR SEASON
Williams, one of the era's deadliest free-throw shooters, appeared in only one game for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1994-95. In the third game of the season he scored 6 points in 28 minutes against the Detroit Pistons. In that contest, a third-quarter miss ended his free-throw streak at 37. Three days later Williams went on the injured list with plantar fasciitis, and on March 1 he underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left heel. A defensive specialist, Williams finished the season 32 steals shy of Tony Campbell for third place on Minnesota's career list and 99 away from all-time Wolves leader Pooh Richardson. The Wolves attempted to fill the void at point guard with the likes of Chris Smith, Winston Garland, Howard Eisley, and Darrick Martin, but Minnesota clearly struggled without Williams, finishing at 21-61.

1993-1994 REGULAR SEASON
All eyes were focused on Williams as the 1993-94 season began. The six-year veteran had ended the previous year with a string of 84 consecutive free throws made-an NBA record-and the new season gave him an opportunity to extend the streak even further. However, the suspense ended in the Timberwolves' third game of the season. On November 9 against the San Antonio Spurs, Williams missed a free throw in the second quarter, ending the streak at 97. Williams went on to have a productive year, although ankle and wrist sprains hampered him throughout the season. He led the Timberwolves in assists (7.2 apg), steals (1.66 per game), and free-throw percentage (.839) while contributing 13.7 points per game. He tied a club record with 17 assists against the Los Angeles Clippers on December 10.

1992-1993 REGULAR SEASON
The Pacers traded Williams and Chuck Person to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason in exchange for Pooh Richardson and Sam Mitchell. The Timberwolves had few highlights in a dismal 19-63 season, but Williams provided one of them. Amid great drama at the Target Center in the season finale against the Utah Jazz, Williams went to the free-throw line 10 times-and nailed all 10 of his attempts, opening a new page in the NBA history book. With his fifth make of the game, Williams broke Calvin Murphy's 12-year-old NBA record for consecutive free throws made, which had stood at 78. Williams closed out the game and the year with 84 straight (a string he would continue into the 1993-94 season). In his first season with the Timberwolves, Williams set a club record by shooting .907 from the free-throw line, a mark which ranked him fourth in the NBA. He also finished sixth in the league in assists (8.7 apg) and eighth in steals (2.17 per game). Williams scored a career-high 31 points in a game against the Mavericks in Dallas on April 23 and f down a career-high 13 rebounds versus the Golden State Warriors on December 19. He had a season-high 16 assists against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 16.

1991-1992 REGULAR SEASON
Williams proved this season that his outburst the previous year had been no fluke. He hiked his averages in scoring (15.0 ppg), assists (8.2 apg), and steals (2.95 per game). Williams finished second in the NBA in steals and eighth in assists. He posted the first triple-double of his career on January 31 in a game against the Atlanta Hawks, recording 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. With the memory of the Pacers' thrilling 1991 playoff series against Boston still fresh, Indiana optimists figured this would be the first year that their club would advance to the second round since joining the NBA. But the fans' hopes were dashed as the Celtics swept the Pacers in three straight first-round games.

1990-1991 REGULAR SEASON
Williams finally found his NBA home with the Indiana Pacers, who signed him as a free agent prior to the 1990-91 season. Indiana gave Williams enough playing time to display the passing, stealing, and scoring skills that Southwest Conference observers had witnessed during his four-year career at Baylor. Williams played in 73 games (45 more than a year earlier) and ranked 11th in the NBA in steals, with an average of 2.05 per game. His average of 23.4 minutes per game doubled what he'd been given during the 1989-90 season, and he responded with 11.1 points and 4.8 assists per contest. Williams was one of the main reasons for the Pacers' success, particularly in the playoffs. In a memorable five-game first-round series with Boston, he averaged 20.6 points and 8.4 assists as the Pacers pushed the Celtics to the limit before losing, 124-121, in Game 5.

1989-1990 REGULAR SEASON
Shortly after their 1988 championship run, the Pistons traded Williams along with the draft rights to Kenny Battle to the Phoenix Suns for the draft rights to Anthony Cook. Williams started the season with the Suns but played in only six games before being waived on December 12. The Dallas Mavericks grabbed him two days later, but he never saw a minute of action before the Mavericks waived him on December 26. Like hundreds of players intent on proving themselves in the NBA, Williams knew he would have to remain sharp as he waited for another club to come calling. So he took his skills to the Continental Basketball Association and played for the Rapid City Thrillers, averaging 18.4 points and 8.0 assists. On March 13 the Charlotte Hornets contacted Williams and asked him to finish out the season. Between Phoenix and Charlotte, he saw time in 28 games, averaging 5.6 points in 11.8 minutes per game.

1988-1989 REGULAR SEASON
Micheal Williams left Baylor as the school's all-time assists leader and the record-holder for assists in a single season, with 182. He also ranks first in career steals and second in career scoring. He made the All-Southwest Conference First Team after both his junior and senior seasons. Williams's NBA career might have progressed more quickly had he been drafted by a team other than Detroit, which happened to have a fine backcourt trio of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson. The Pistons went for Wyoming's Fennis Dembo with their first draft pick in 1988, then selected Williams in the second round. The Baylor product played in only 49 contests as a rookie, averaging 2.6 points in 7.3 minutes per game. Still, he was a member of the Pistons team that won the first of two consecutive NBA Championships.