Kevin Willis - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Kevin Alvin Willis is a former American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...

in the NBA. He is a 7-foot power forward

Power forward (basketball)

Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...

/center

Center (basketball)

The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...

. During the 2004-05 season

2004-05 NBA season

The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association . It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating defending champion Detroit Pistons 4–3 in the NBA Finals....

, Willis was the oldest player in the league at age 42, and he would continue to be until his retirement at the conclusion of the 2006-07 season at the age of 44.

Born in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Willis graduated from Pershing High School in Detroit and joined the basketball team in his junior year. Willis played competitively at Jackson Community College

Jackson Community College

Jackson Community College is a community college located in Jackson County, Michigan. Originally established as Jackson Junior College in 1928, Jackson County electors voted to reincorporate the institution as a Community College District under Public Act 188 of 1955 in 1962...

for his freshman season and transferred to Michigan State University

Michigan State University

Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

, where he would play three seasons as a fashion and textiles major. He was selected in the 1984 NBA Draft

1984 NBA Draft

The 1984 NBA Draft was the 38th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on June 19, 1984 before the 1984–85 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft,...

by the Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...

. He played with the Hawks for nine seasons (plus two games of a tenth season) until 1994. Willis teamed with Dominique Wilkins

Dominique Wilkins

Jacques Dominique Wilkins is a retired American professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA...

, Spud Webb

Spud Webb

Anthony Jerome Webb , also known as Spud Webb, is a retired American NBA professional basketball point guard most notable for winning a slam dunk contest despite being one of the shortest NBA players in the history of the league...

, and Doc Rivers

Doc Rivers

Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers is a former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the NBA's Boston Celtics. Rivers was known for his defense while playing in the NBA...

to often guide the Hawks to Playoff

NBA Playoffs

The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...

s appearances as well as providing a fierce rebounding presence in the post. Near the end of his stint with the Hawks, he and Wilkins were both made team captains. Willis was traded to the Miami Heat

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...

in 1994. Since then he has played with the Golden State Warriors

Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

, two separate stints with the Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

, the Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...

, the Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...

and the San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....

. It was in 2003 with the Spurs that he finally won an NBA Championship ring. Willis is one of 15 players in NBA history with over 16,000 career points and 11,000 career rebounds. He was named to the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Team in 1992, when he finished the season with a career-high average of 15.5 rebounds a game.

Willis returned to the Hawks for one more season in 2004-05

2004-05 NBA season

, and by doing so, positioned himself to be the oldest player in the league. On March 30, 2007, The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...

reported that Willis needed only to pass a physical to be able to sign with the Western Conference-leading Dallas Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks

. Willis, who did not play in 2005-06, was reported to take the team's vacant 15th roster spot. The deal became official when he signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks on April 2, 2007. He appeared in 5 late regular season games and was on the Mavericks playoff roster as the 12th man but did not play in the Mavericks shock early first round exit. By playing five games during 2006-07

2006-07 NBA season

The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association. The regular season began on October 31, 2006 and ran through April 18, 2007. The league fielded 30 teams, each playing an 82 game regular season schedule. The top eight seeds from each conference reached the NBA...

, Willis became the oldest person to play more than one game in an NBA season (Providence Steamrollers

Providence Steamrollers

The Providence Steamrollers were a National Basketball Association team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of November 2011, the Steamrollers remain the last pro sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island....

coach Nat Hickey

Nat Hickey

Matthew "Nat" Hickey was an American professional basketball player and coach.A 5'11" guard/forward, Hickey played during the 1920s through 1940s as a member of multiple professional teams, including the Cleveland Rosenblums of the American Basketball League and the Pittsburgh Raiders,...

activated himself for one game in 1948

1947-48 NBA season

The 1947–48 BAA season was the second season of the Basketball Association of America , the league that would eventually become the National Basketball Association...

, at 45 years and 363 days old.) Hall-of-Famer Robert Parish

Robert Parish

Robert Lee Parish is a retired American basketball center. He was known for his strong defense and jump shooting, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003...

, who - at age 43 - played 43 games with the Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

in 1996-97, previously held many of Willis's longevity and age-based records.

Willis holds career averages of 12.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, and 0.9 apg while averaging 27 minutes per game in 20 NBA seasons.

In 2007, Willis made three appearances on the Spike TV reality show, Pros vs Joes
Pros vs Joes
Pros vs. Joes is an American physical reality game show that airs on Spike TV. The show features male amateur contestants matching themselves against professional athletes in a series of athletic feats related to the expertise sport of the Pro they are facing...

.

Willis ended his playing career after the 2007 season, returning to his clothing business, Willis & Walker. The Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

-based company, which specializes in custom wear for big and tall men, was founded in 1988 by Willis and former Michigan State teammate Ralph Walker.

NBA career statistics

†	NBA Championship
	Led the league

Regular season

Atlanta Hawks

|bgcolor="CFECEC"| 82 || 19 || 21.8 || .467 || .222 || .657 || 6.4 || .4 || .4 || .6 || 9.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 82 || 59 || 28.0 || .517 || .000 || .654 || 8.6 || .5 || .8 || .5 || 12.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 81 || 81 || 32.4 || .536 || .250 || .709 || 10.5 || .8 || .8 || .8 || 16.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 75 || 55 || 27.9 || .518 || .000 || .649 || 7.3 || .4 || .9 || .5 || 11.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 81 || 51 || 28.1 || .519 || .286 || .683 || 8.0 || .7 || .8 || .6 || 12.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 80 || 80 || 29.7 || .504 || .400 || .668 || 8.8 || 1.2 || .8 || .5 || 13.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 81 || 80 || 36.6 || .483 || .162 || .804 || 15.5 || 2.1 || .9 || .7 || 18.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 80 || 80 || 36.0 || .506 || .241 || .653 || 12.9 || 2.1 || .9 || .5 || 17.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 80 || 80 || 35.8 || .499 || .375 || .713 || 12.0 || 1.9 || 1.0 || .5 || 19.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 2 || 2 || 44.5 || .390 || .000 || .667 || 18.0 || 1.5 || .5 || 1.5 || 21.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994–95
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami

Miami Heat

| 65 || 61 || 35.4 || .469 || .214 || .691 || 10.7 || 1.3 || .9 || .5 || 17.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 47 || 42 || 28.9 || .473 || .000 || .712 || 8.9 || .7 || .4 || .5 || 10.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1995–96
| style="text-align:left;"| Golden State

Golden State Warriors

| 28 || 18 || 27.8 || .433 || .250 || .701 || 7.8 || .7 || .5 || .6 || 11.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Houston

Houston Rockets

| 75 || 32 || 26.2 || .481 || .143 || .693 || 7.5 || .9 || .6 || .4 || 11.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Houston
| 81 || 74 || 31.2 || .510 || .143 || .793 || 8.4 || 1.0 || .7 || .5 || 16.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto

Toronto Raptors

| 42 || 38 || 29.0 || .418 || .000 || .839 || 8.3 || 1.6 || .7 || .7 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto
| 79 || 1 || 21.3 || .415 || .333 || .799 || 6.1 || .6 || .5 || .6 || 7.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto
| 35 || 9 || 22.0 || .461 || .000 || .753 || 6.4 || .6 || .5 || .6 || 8.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2000–01
| style="text-align:left;"| Denver

Denver Nuggets

| 43 || 13 || 24.6 || .428 || .250 || .788 || 7.2 || .7 || .9 || .7 || 9.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Houston

Houston Rockets

| 52 || 5 || 16.7 || .440 || .000 || .747 || 5.8 || .3 || .5 || .4 || 6.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" bgcolor="AFE6BA"| †
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio

San Antonio Spurs

| 71 || 6 || 11.8 || .479 || .000 || .614 || 3.2 || .3 || .3 || .3 || 4.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 48 || 0 || 7.8 || .467 || .000 || .615 || 2.0 || .2 || .4 || .2 || 3.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta

Atlanta Hawks

| 29 || 5 || 11.9 || .389 || .000 || .739 || 2.6 || .3 || .3 || .2 || 3.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas

Dallas Mavericks

| 5 || 0 || 8.6 || .385 || – || 1.000 || 1.6 || .2 || .4 || .2 || 2.4
|-class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;" colspan=2| Career
| 1,424 || 891 || 26.9 || .487 || .211 || .713 || 8.4 || .9 || .7 || .5 || 12.1
|-class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;" colspan=2| All-Star
| 1 || 0 || 14.0 || .400 || – || – || 4.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 8.0

Playoffs

|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1986

1986 NBA Playoffs

The 1986 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1985-86 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets, four games to two, in the NBA Finals. The Celtics won...

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta

Atlanta Hawks

| 9 || – || 31.1 || .561 || – || .652 || 7.2 || .6 || .8 || .9 || 13.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1987

1987 NBA Playoffs

The 1987 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1986-1987 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics four games to two in the Finals...

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 9 || – || 39.6 || .522 || – || .677 || 9.2 || .7 || 1.0 || .8 || 15.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1988

1988 NBA Playoffs

The 1988 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1987-1988 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons four games to three in the Finals...

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 12 || – || 38.5 || .580 || .000 || .680 || 9.0 || .9 || .8 || .8 || 16.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1991

1991 NBA Playoffs

The 1991 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1990–91 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their first NBA championship via a four-games-to-one victory over the Western Conference champion Los...

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 5 || 5 || 31.8 || .403 || .667 || .700 || 9.0 || 1.0 || .4 || .2 || 15.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1993

1993 NBA Playoffs

The 1993 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1992-1993 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their third consecutive championship by defeating the Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns four...

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 3 || 3 || 34.3 || .467 || .000 || .571 || 8.7 || 1.0 || .7 || .0 || 16.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1994

1994 NBA Playoffs

The 1994 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1993-94 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals...

| style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta
| 11 || 11 || 32.9 || .457 || .000 || .762 || 10.8 || 1.0 || .7 || .5 || 12.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997

1997 NBA Playoffs

The 1997 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1996–97 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning the NBA championship by defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazzfour games to two...

| style="text-align:left;"| Houston

Houston Rockets

| 16 || 0 || 18.4 || .400 || .000 || .684 || 4.7 || .7 || .6 || .3 || 6.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998

1998 NBA Playoffs

The 1998 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1997-98 NBA season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their sixth championship of the decade by defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz four...

| style="text-align:left;"| Houston
| 5 || 5 || 33.6 || .400 || .000 || .750 || 10.6 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 1.6 || 11.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2000

2000 NBA Playoffs

The 2000 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1999–2000 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers win their first championship in twelve years by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers...

| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto

Toronto Raptors

| 3 || 0 || 25.3 || .364 || – || .750 || 8.7 || .3 || .7 || .0 || 13.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" bgcolor="AFE6BA"| 2003

2003 NBA Playoffs

The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. It was also the only time in playoff history that no team was swept in a first-round series....

†
| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio

San Antonio Spurs

| 18 || 0 || 5.1 || .525 || 1.000 || 1.000 || 1.7 || .1 || .1 || .1 || 2.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2004

2004 NBA Playoffs

The 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...

| style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio
| 7 || 0 || 3.6 || .375 || .000 || .000 || .9 || .0 || .1 || .0 || .9
|-class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;" colspan=2| Career
| 98 || – || 24.3 || .484 || .214 || .692 || 6.5 || .6 || .6 || .4 || 9.9

External links

Kevin Billis biography at NBA.com (archived from 2004)
Hey! Whatever Happened To Kevin Willis?

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

External links