Monty Williams
Monty Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tavares Montgomery Williams October 8, 1971 Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball coach, executive, former player |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Known for | Head coach of Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons; NBA Coach of the Year (2022) |
Tavares Montgomery Williams (born October 8, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach, executive, and former NBA player, presently serving as the head coach of the TMI Episcopal boys basketball squad. His most recent NBA head coaching position was with the Detroit Pistons. Williams’s playing career in the NBA spanned from 1994 to 2003 across five teams, after which he transitioned into coaching roles including assistant coach, associate head coach, and head coach.
Williams was at the helm of the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans between and , and also contributed as an assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team under the leadership of Mike Krzyzewski. Additionally, he held the position of vice president of basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs. In May 2019, Williams was appointed head coach of the Phoenix Suns, steering them to their first appearance in the NBA Finals since 1993 in 2021. He received the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2022 after guiding the Suns to a franchise-best 64 victories. Following his termination by Phoenix in 2023, Williams agreed to a six-year contract worth $78.5 million with the Pistons, ranking him as the second highest-paid NBA coach at that time; however, he was dismissed after just one season.
Early life
Born on October 8, 1971, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Williams attended Potomac High School located in Oxon Hill, Maryland, where he distinguished himself as a standout basketball player.
College career
During his tenure as a small forward at the University of Notre Dame, Williams earned honorable mention All-American honors while averaging 22.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in his senior year. Despite being sidelined for two seasons due to a heart condition, he was chosen 24th overall by the New York Knicks in the first round of the 1994 NBA draft.
New York Knicks (1994–1996)
Williams’s NBA career commenced with the New York Knicks, where he played from 1994 until 1996.
San Antonio Spurs (1996–1998)
In a trade that sent him alongside Charles Smith to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Brad Lohaus, J.R. Reid, and a future first-round draft pick, Williams competed with the Spurs from 1996 through 1998.
Denver Nuggets (1999)
Williams briefly joined the Denver Nuggets in 1999 but was released within a month of signing.
Orlando Magic (1999–2002)
Following his release, Williams was claimed off waivers by the Orlando Magic, where he remained on the roster until 2002.
Philadelphia 76ers (2002–2003)
In 2002, Williams signed with the Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent. He was traded back to Orlando in 2003 but was waived shortly thereafter, marking the end of his playing days. Across his NBA tenure spanning 456 games, he accumulated a total of 2,884 points, averaging 6.3 points per contest. Persistent knee problems ultimately led to his retirement in 2003.
San Antonio Spurs
Williams earned an NBA championship ring as a coaching intern with the San Antonio Spurs during spring of 2005.
Portland Trail Blazers (2005–2010)
Later that year, in autumn 2005, Williams was appointed assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers by head coach Nate McMillan.
New Orleans Hornets / Pelicans (2010–2015)
On June 7, 2010, Williams was appointed head coach of the New Orleans Hornets under a three-year agreement, becoming the youngest head coach in NBA history at age 38. His inaugural season concluded with a 46–36 record and a playoff appearance. On August 18, 2012, he secured a four-year contract extension with the franchise, which was later rebranded as the Pelicans. Williams joined the coaching staff for the United States men's national basketball team on June 9, 2013, preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Pelicans finished the 2014–15 campaign with a 45–37 record but were eliminated in the first round by the Golden State Warriors. After five seasons at the helm, Williams was relieved of his duties on May 12, 2015, ending his tenure with a regular-season record of 173–221 and a playoff mark of 2–8.
Oklahoma City Thunder (2015–2016)
Williams was appointed associate head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 29, 2015. His time with the team lasted one season, as it was announced on June 1, 2016, that he would not be returning for the following year.
Philadelphia 76ers (2018–2019)
On June 4, 2018, it was declared by Brett Brown that Williams would join the Philadelphia 76ers as lead assistant coach, marking his return to coaching after a two-year hiatus.
Phoenix Suns (2019–2023)
The Phoenix Suns brought Williams on board as head coach on May 3, 2019, signing him to a five-year deal. The Suns concluded his first season with a 26–39 record before play was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020 NBA Bubble, Williams guided Phoenix to an undefeated 8–0 run, finishing the year at 34–39; however, they did not qualify for the play-in tournament.
Williams reunited with star point guard Chris Paul on November 16, 2020. Following the 2020–21 NBA season, he received the NBCA Coach of the Year Award and placed second in NBA Coach of the Year voting. The Suns achieved a 51–21 record that season, winning their division and earning the second seed in the Western Conference. Under Williams’ leadership, Phoenix defeated both the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets in postseason play before sweeping the Los Angeles Clippers to reach their first NBA Finals since 1993. The Suns ultimately fell in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Williams entered Suns' COVID-19 protocol on December 27, 2021. On January 30, 2022, he was selected as head coach for the Western Conference in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, reflecting Phoenix’s league-leading 40–9 record at that time. The Suns secured a playoff spot earlier than any other team and ended with a franchise-best total of 64 wins. Williams earned his second straight NBCA Coach of the Year honor and was named NBA Coach of the Year for the 2021–22 campaign. Despite this success, Phoenix was eliminated in seven games by Dallas Mavericks during the Western Conference semifinals.
On July 27, 2022, Williams agreed to a multi-year contract extension with Phoenix. However, after a Western Conference semifinals defeat to eventual champions Denver Nuggets on May 13, 2023, Williams was dismissed despite having over $20 million remaining on his contract.
Detroit Pistons (2023–2024)
Williams was appointed head coach of the Detroit Pistons on June 2, 2023. Throughout his initial season, Detroit suffered a historic losing streak of 28 consecutive games—the longest ever recorded within a single NBA season—and became only the thirteenth franchise to endure an entire winless month with an 0–15 record in November. On June 19, 2024, following a franchise-worst season finish of 14–68—the poorest record across all teams in the 2023-24 NBA season—Williams was terminated from his position despite having $65 million and five years left on his contract.
TMI Episcopal (2024–present)
On October 20, 2024, Williams took on the role of head coach for the boys’ basketball team at TMI Episcopal in San Antonio, Texas, where he will have the opportunity to coach his sons Elijah and Micah.
San Antonio Spurs
Williams was appointed vice president of basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs in 2016. While holding this position, he was honored with the first-ever Sager Strong Award during the inaugural NBA Awards ceremony on June 26, 2017.
Personal life
Williams’ first wife, Ingrid, tragically passed away on February 10, 2016, due to injuries from a head-on collision in Oklahoma City. Together, they had five children. In 2017, Williams remarried, wedding Lisa Keeth. He identifies as a Christian.
NBA
Source
Regular season
|- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|New York |41||23||12.3||.451||.000||.447||2.4||1.2||.5||.1||3.3 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|New York |14||0||4.4||.318||–||.625||1.2||.3||.1||.0||1.4 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio |17||0||7.2||.435||.000||.750||1.4||.2||.2||.1||2.9 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio |65||26||20.7||.509||.000||.645||3.2||1.4||.8||.8||9.0 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio |72||16||18.3||.448||.500||.670||2.5||1.2||.5||.3||6.3 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Denver |1||0||6.0||.000||–||.500||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||1.0 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Orlando |75||23||20.0||.489||.400||.741||3.3||1.4||.6||.2||8.7 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Orlando |82||0||14.8||.447||.077||.639||3.0||1.0||.4||.2||5.0 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Orlando |68|||19|||18 .9||| .547||| .000||| .657||| 3 .5||| 1 .4||| 0 .7||| 0 .3 |} |- |style="text-align:left;" | |style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia |21 |2 |13 .1 | .425 | .000 | .750 | 2 .1 | 1 .2 | .6 | .2 | 4 .4 |- class= "sortbottom" | style= "text-align:center;" colspan= 2 | Career | 456 | 109 | 16 .7 | .481 | .111 | .665 | 2 .8 | 1 .2 | .6 | .3 | 6 .3 }}
Playoffs
|- |style="text-align:left;"|1995 |style="text-align:left;"|New York |1 || 0 || 4 || 1 .000 || – || – || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 |- |style="text-align:left;" | 1996 NBA playoffs | style="text-align:left;" | 1995–96 San Antonio Spurs season |7 || 0 || 4 .1 || .222 || – || .500 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 1998 NBA playoffs | style="text-align:left;" | 1997–98 San Antonio Spurs season |5 || 0 || 5 .6 || .625 || – || .667 || 1 .2 || .2 || 0 || 0 || 2 .4 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 2001 NBA playoffs | style="text-align:left;" | 2000–01 Orlando Magic season |3 || 0 || 4 .7 || .750 || – || .333 || 2 || 0 || 0 || .'7 || 2 .3 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |}
Head coaching record
|- | style="text-align:left;"|New Orleans | style="text-align:left;"| | 82 || 46 || 36 || || 3rd in Southwest || 6 || 2 || 4 || | Eliminated in First round |- | style="text-align:left;"|New Orleans | style="text-align:left;"| | 66 || 21 || 45 || || 5th in Southwest || — || — || — || — | Did not qualify for playoffs |- | style="text-align:left;" |New Orleans | style="text-align:left;" | | 82 || 27 || 55 || || 5th in Southwest || — || — || — || — | Absent from postseason |- | style="text-align:left;" |New Orleans | style="text-align:left;" | | 82 || 34 || 48 || || 5th in Southwest || — || — || — || — | Did not reach playoffs |-
| style="text-align:left;" |New Orleans | style="text-align:left;" | | 82 || 45 || 37 || || 5th in Southwest || 4 || 0 || 4 || | Exited in First round
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |Phoenix | style="text-align:left;" | | 73 || 34 || 39 || || 3rd in Pacific || — || — || — || — | Missed postseason
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |Phoenix | style="text-align:left;" | | 72 || 51 || 21 || || 1st in Pacific || 22 || 14 || 8 || | Runner-up in NBA Finals
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |Phoenix | style="text-align:left;" | | 82 || 64 || 18 || || 1st in Pacific || 13 || 7 || 6 || | Eliminated in Conference semifinals
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |Phoenix | style="text-align:left;" | | 82 || 45 || 37 || || 2nd in Pacific || 11 || 6 || 5 || | Knocked out in Conference semifinals |-
| style=text-align:left; | Detroit | style=text-align:left; |
|
82 | 14 | 68 |
|
5th in Central | — | — | — | — | Did not qualify for playoffs |- class=sortbottom | style=text-align:center; colspan=2 | Career totals | 785 | 381 | 404 |
|
| 56 | 29 | 27 |
|
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