Willie Cauley-Stein

Willie Cauley-Stein
Born	(1993-08-18) August 18, 1993 Spearville, Kansas, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2012–present
Known for	Collegiate basketball for Kentucky Wildcats; NBA career; playing for Nanjing Monkey Kings in CBA

Willie Trill Cauley-Stein (originally named Willie Durmond Cauley Jr.; born August 18, 1993) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States who most recently competed with the Nanjing Monkey Kings in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). His collegiate basketball tenure was with the Kentucky Wildcats.

Early life

Cauley-Stein was born in Spearville, Kansas and was primarily raised by his maternal grandparents following his father’s departure shortly after his birth. He later legally altered his last name from Cauley to Cauley-Stein.

High school career

Measuring as a freshman, Cauley-Stein transferred to Olathe Northwest High School located in Olathe, Kansas, where he participated in both basketball and football. During his junior year, he averaged 15.8 points along with 8.5 rebounds per contest.

Rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was positioned as the No. 9 center and ranked No. 40 overall nationally in the class of 2012.

Though he was not eligible to play varsity football until his senior year, he distinguished himself as a wide receiver, contributing to his team’s victory at a 7-on-7 tournament hosted by the University of Kansas. This performance earned him a football scholarship offer. In his final high school season, he amassed 64 receptions for 1,265 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging an impressive 19.7 yards per catch.

Freshman season

During his freshman year at college, Cauley-Stein served as a backup center behind highly regarded prospect Nerlens Noel. He posted averages of 7.8 points on an efficient 63.9% shooting rate, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.0 assists, and 0.8 steals over 20 games. His efforts earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice, highlighted by a standout game scoring 20 points with seven rebounds against Vanderbilt, and a flawless 5-for-5 shooting display versus Auburn.

Following Noel’s season-ending ACL injury on February 12, 2013, Cauley-Stein stepped into the starting center role. Over six games as a starter, he recorded three double-doubles, including performances of 10 points and 11 rebounds against Georgia, and another with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks at Arkansas. He completed the season averaging 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in 29 appearances and was named to the All-SEC Freshman team.

Sophomore season

In the following season (2013–14), Cauley-Stein appeared in all 37 games and started in half of them (18), posting averages of 6.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and an impressive 2.9 blocks per contest. His total of 106 blocks during that season stands as the second-highest single-season mark in Kentucky’s history. His defensive excellence earned him selection to the All-SEC Defensive Team.

He twice achieved career-best nine-block games against Providence and Boise State. Late in the season, he delivered notable performances such as scoring 10 points with 11 rebounds and five blocks in the SEC championship game against top-ranked #1 Florida. Unfortunately, a leg injury sustained during the 2014 NCAA tournament forced him to miss the remainder of that campaign. Despite projections placing him within the top-15 picks for the 2014 NBA draft, he chose to return for his junior year instead.

Junior season

During the 2014–15 season, Cauley-Stein earned the title of SEC Defensive Player of the Year and was honored with selections to the All-SEC First Team, All-SEC Defensive Team, as well as the USA Today first-team All-American squad.

On April 9, 2015, he declared for the NBA draft, joining fellow teammates Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, and Karl-Anthony Towns in entering the draft.

Sacramento Kings (2015–2019)

Cauley-Stein was chosen sixth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2015 NBA draft on June 25, 2015. He officially signed with Sacramento on July 16. His NBA debut came on October 28, where he posted two points and two rebounds during a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. In his first starting appearance two days later against the Los Angeles Lakers, he tallied 17 points and nine rebounds. After missing a significant portion of December due to a finger injury, he achieved his first double-double on January 20 with 12 points and 10 rebounds versus the Lakers. On March 25, he reached a then personal best by scoring 26 points in a victory over the Phoenix Suns. By season's conclusion, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

Following the trade of DeMarcus Cousins on February 23, 2017, Cauley-Stein saw increased playing time off the bench and posted a career-high 29 points along with 10 rebounds in a win against the Denver Nuggets. On January 6, 2018, he set a new personal record with seven steals during another victory over Denver.

On October 29, 2018, Cauley-Stein contributed 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a triumph over the Miami Heat. Later that year, on December 23, he recorded 22 points and established a career-high with 17 rebounds in a win against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Kings extended a qualifying offer to Cauley-Stein on June 28, 2019, making him a restricted free agent; however, they later withdrew this offer to free up salary cap space for acquiring Cory Joseph.

Golden State Warriors (2019–2020)

Cauley-Stein signed with the Golden State Warriors on July 8, 2019. He made his debut on October 10 against the Phoenix Suns, scoring 12 points on flawless shooting while adding five rebounds, one assist, and one block in just 12 minutes of play.

Dallas Mavericks (2020–2022)

On January 25, 2020, Cauley-Stein was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2020 draft. He appeared for Dallas three days later in a loss to the Phoenix Suns, contributing four points and two rebounds across 12 minutes. Cauley-Stein chose not to participate in the resumed season within the 2020 NBA Bubble due to expecting a newborn child.

After completing the 2019–20 season, he declined his contract option on November 19, 2020, thereby entering free agency but re-signed with Dallas on December 1, 2020. The Mavericks exercised their team option on August 1, 2021, keeping him under contract for the following season. On January 15, 2022, Dallas waived Cauley-Stein to clear roster space for newly signed Marquese Chriss.

Philadelphia 76ers (2022)

Cauley-Stein inked a ten-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers on February 24, 2022; however, he was released from the team on March 3.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2022–2023)

On October 9, 2022, Cauley-Stein inked a deal with the Houston Rockets and was included on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers roster for their season opener on November 3. He secured a 10-day contract with the Rockets on February 27, 2023, although he did not participate in any games during that period before rejoining the Vipers. Subsequently, on April 9, 2023, he signed again with the Rockets.

Pallacanestro Varese (2023–2024)

Cauley-Stein committed to Openjobmetis Varese of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and FIBA Europe Cup on July 31, 2023. He highlighted Europe's emphasis on a more strategic style of basketball as a significant influence in his decision. On October 25, 2023, he established a new FIBA Europe Cup benchmark by grabbing 20 rebounds in a single contest against BG Göttingen, while adding 19 points to help secure a 91–71 victory.

On January 30, 2024, Cauley-Stein signed with Indios de Mayagüez, but departed from the team on March 24 due to concerns about his physical condition before making an appearance.

Nanjing Monkey Kings (2024)

On October 21, 2024, Cauley-Stein joined the Nanjing Monkey Kings competing in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento | 66 || 39 || 21.4 || .563 || .000 || .648 || 5.3 || .6 || .7 || 1.0 || 7.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento | 75 || 21 || 18.9 || .530 || .000 || .669 || 4.5 || 1.1 || .7 || .6 || 8.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento | 73 || 57 || 28.0 || .502 || .250 || .619 || 7.0 || 2.4 || 1.1 || .9 || 12.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento | 81 || 81 || 27.3 || .556 || .500 || .551 || 8.4 || 2.4 || 1.2 || .6 || 11.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|Golden State | 41 || 37 || 22.9 || .560 || .000 || .614 || 6.2 || 1.5 || 1.1 || 1.2 || 7.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Dallas | 13 || 2 || 12.1 || .689 || .000 || .556 || 4.6 || .8 || .3 || .8 || 5.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Dallas | 53 || 16 || 17.1 || .632 || .091 || .628 || 4.5 || .7 || .4 || .8 || 5.3 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|Dallas | 18 || 2|| 9.8|| .457|| .500|| .500|| 2.1|| .5|| .3|| .2|| 1.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia | 2||0||3.0|| || || ||1.0||.5||0||0||0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career |422||256||22.0||.544||.188||.612||5.9||1.4||.8||.8||8.7

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;" |2021 | style="text-align:left;" |Dallas |6||0||10.5||.667|| ||1.000||2.7||.5||.3||.7||2.5 |- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" |Career
|6||0||10.5||.667|| ||1.000||2.7||.5||.3||.7||2.5

Personal life

On May 1, 2015, Cauley-Stein officially modified his name to pay tribute to his mother, Marlene Stein, and his maternal grandparents who raised him after his father departed when he was four years old. Additionally, he incorporated "Trill" as a middle name, a moniker given by his friends.

His father, Willie Cauley, competed in college basketball at Dodge City Community College and later at the University of Pittsburgh, while his mother played at St. Mary of the Plains College.

Cauley-Stein is a parent to one child, born in 2020.

In August 2024, he disclosed that a severe struggle with drug addiction was the reason behind his NBA personal leave in 2021 and subsequent departure in 2022. He also shared his determination to return to the NBA and sustain sobriety for the sake of his family.

External links

• Kentucky Wildcats bio