Willie Anderson (basketball)

Willie Lloyd Anderson Jr. (born January 8, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. During his pro club career, Anderson played nine seasons in the NBA, and three seasons in the EuroLeague. He was named to the 1988–89 NBA season's All-Rookie First Team. While he was a member of the Greek Basket League club AEK Athens, he played in the 1998 EuroLeague Final.

Willie Anderson
Personal information
Born (1966-01-08) January 8, 1966
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolEast Atlanta (Atlanta, Georgia)
CollegeGeorgia (1984–1988)
NBA draft1988: 1st round, 10th overall pick
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
Playing career1988–1998
PositionSmall forward
Number40, 35
Career history
19881995San Antonio Spurs
1995–1996Toronto Raptors
1996New York Knicks
1996Olympiacos
1997Miami Heat
1997–1998AEK Athens
1998Maccabi Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points6,771 (12.2 ppg)
Rebounds2,082 (3.8 rpg)
Assists2,105 (3.8 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place1987 Indianapolis Team competition
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place1988 Seoul Team competition
Anderson wore #40[1] for nearly his entire career, including his seven-season run with the Spurs.

College career

After playing high school basketball at East Atlanta High, Anderson played college basketball at the University of Georgia, with the Georgia Bulldogs, from 1984 to 1988. In his junior season, Anderson averaged 15.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game, in 30 games played. During his senior season, Anderson averaged 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game, in 35 games played, and he was named to the SEC's All-Conference Team.

Professional career

After attending and playing college basketball at the University of Georgia, Anderson was selected by the San Antonio Spurs, with the 10th overall pick of the 1988 NBA draft. Anderson was selected to the 1989 NBA All-Rookie Team. During the 1990 NBA Playoffs, Anderson averaged playoff-career-highs of 20.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game respectively.[2] The Spurs advanced past the Denver Nuggets in the first round, before losing to the eventual Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers, in a hard-fought seven game playoff series.[3]

Anderson played for the Spurs until the 1994–95 season. He spent 1995–96 season with the Toronto Raptors, after he was selected in the 1995 expansion draft. He also played with the New York Knicks that season. Anderson spent the 1996–97 season playing in Greece, where he played with the Greek Basket League club Olympiacos Piraeus, and with the NBA's Miami Heat.

He moved to the Greek club AEK Athens, for the 1997–98 season. He helped AEK make it to the EuroLeague's 1998 Final, which they lost to the Italian League club Virtus Bologna, by a score of 58–44. Anderson signed with the Israeli Super League club Maccabi Tel Aviv, for the 1998–99 season. However, he was waived by the club at the beginning of the season. After signing with the club, he declared that season would be his last season in professional basketball, and after he was waived by the club, he did in fact retire from playing pro club basketball.

National team career

Anderson won a silver medal with Team USA at the 1987 Pan American Games. He also won a bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, where he played alongside future NBA players Hersey Hawkins, Stacey Augmon, Dan Majerle, Mitch Richmond, Charles Smith, and future Spurs teammate, David Robinson.

Personal life

Anderson is the older brother of former NBA player Shandon Anderson, and the father of former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Lady Mocs player Alex Anderson.[4]

NBA career statistics

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

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1988–89 San Antonio 817933.8.498.190.7755.14.61.90.818.6
1989–90 San Antonio 828134.0.492.269.7484.54.41.40.715.7
1990–91 San Antonio 757534.6.457.200.7984.74.81.10.814.4
1991–92 San Antonio 575533.1.455.232.7755.35.30.90.913.1
1992–93 San Antonio 38714.7.430.125.7861.52.10.40.24.8
1993–94 San Antonio 807931.1.471.324.8483.04.30.90.611.9
1994–95 San Antonio 381114.6.469.158.7321.41.40.70.34.9
1995–96 Toronto 494231.9.440.305.8563.83.01.21.012.4
1995–96 New York 27218.4.421.200.6132.21.80.60.35.0
1996–97 Miami 28110.8.453.421.8501.51.20.50.13.0
Career 55543228.8.471.266.7863.83.81.10.612.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1990 San Antonio 101037.5.518.400.8065.45.20.90.420.5
1991 San Antonio 4439.8.485.200.6154.34.81.50.519.0
1993 San Antonio 10021.9.451.545.8822.32.80.90.29.5
1994 San Antonio 4426.5.3781.000.5712.03.01.30.58.3
1995 San Antonio 1108.8.450.000.6671.10.90.50.01.8
1996 New York 4016.0.318.167.8572.30.31.00.05.3
1997 Miami 9013.3.367.250.9001.90.60.40.23.7
Career 521821.9.464.333.7852.72.40.80.29.3

References

  1. "Willie Anderson Statistics". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  2. "Willie Anderson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more". Basketball-Reference.com.
  3. [https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1990-nba-western-conference-semifinals-spurs-vs-trail-blazers.html 1990 NBA Western Conference Semifinals Spurs vs. Trail Blazers]
  4. "Alex Anderson - 2007-08 - Women's Basketball". University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics.
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