Mo Williams is a former professional basketball player from the United States who spent 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA)
Williams is on his own path now and has been for years, but he is still associated with James as an example of the power and influence he wields.
Williams played in the NBA with the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Charlotte Hornets. During the 2008-09 season, he was an All-Star for the Cavs.
He achieved several career milestones with the Cavaliers, including being selected to the 2009 NBA All-Star Game and winning the 2016 NBA championship with LeBron James.
The 2016 Cavaliers were the 1st team in NBA Finals history to rally from a 3-1 deficit.
Williams’ last season in the NBA was 2015-16 when he returned to Cleveland and was a member of the Cavs’ NBA Finals-winning team, which defeated the Warriors in seven games.
Quick Facts
Full Name | Maurice Williams |
Known As | Mo Williams |
Nickname | Mo |
Birth Date | December 19, 1982 |
Birth Place | Jackson, Mississippi |
Residence | Not Available |
Religion | Christianity |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | African American |
Education | Murrah (Jackson, Mississippi) and Alabama (2001–2003) |
Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
Father’s Name | Isaiah Williams |
Mother’s Name | Griceldia Williams |
Siblings | Montrell, Marcia and Michael Williams |
Age | 41 years old |
Height | 6 feet 1 inch |
Weight | 198 lb (90 kg) |
Eye Color | Brown |
Hair Color | Black |
Body Type | Athletic |
Profession | Basketball Player |
Marital Status | Married |
Wife | Keisha Williams |
Children | 5 |
Active since | 2018–present |
Teams |
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Achievements |
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Endorsements | Not Available |
Net Worth | $20 million |
NBA Draft Pick | 2003, Round: 2, Pick: 47th overall |
Position | Head Coach |
League | Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Merch | Basketball Card |
Social Media | |
Last Update | October 2024 |
Amateur Career
At the University of Alabama, Williams studied under Mark Gottfried. As a freshman in 2002, he started every game as a point guard. He averaged 10.4 points and 4.5 assists in each game.
Alabama finished the regular season with a 27–8 record, including a 17–0 home record, and won the SEC regular-season championship.
Williams and the Crimson Tide were seeded second in the NCAA tournament and lost to Kent State 71–58 in the 2nd round.
The athlete led the team in scoring and assists, averaging 16.4 points and 3.8 assists per game during the 2003 season, which ended with an NCAA tournament first-round loss to Indiana. He was named to the SEC’s third team after that.
After two seasons at Alabama, Williams decided to forego his final two years and enter the NBA draft in 2003.
On December 19, 1982, Mo Williams was born. As a result, he is now 41 years old.
The retired player is 6 feet and 1 inch tall, or 1.85 meters. He weighs around 90 kilograms (198 pounds).
Williams has a well-kept body and appears to be quite athletic in terms of appearance.
His dark hair is lovely, and he has brown eyes. He was born in the United States and is of African-American descent.
Williams was born under the Sagittarius astrological sign. Sapiens born under the astrological sign of Sagittarius walk an emotional tightrope but are fearless.
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They appear to be the silent, strong type. They must contribute to the community either through their work or their ideals.
Professional Career
Williams spent four seasons with the Cavaliers during his 13-year NBA career, which lasted from 2003 to 2016.
He played for the Cavaliers from 2008 to 2011 and then rejoined the team in 2015 to help Cleveland win the NBA Championship in 2015-16.
Williams appeared in 13 NBA Playoff games in 2015-16, averaging 20 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 68 minutes.
Williams’ selection to the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix was another highlight of his NBA career. According to Basketball-Reference, he played 16 minutes and 42 seconds in that game, scoring 12 points and dishing out five assists.
He also criticized the events surrounding LeBron’s departure from Cleveland, and he retaliated against Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade’s insults directed at the Cavaliers.
Williams hit his first buzzer-beater as a Cavalier on November 14, 2010, to beat his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks, 83-81.
As time expired, it was a 15-footer over Brandon Jennings. He finished the game with a total of 25 points and was named the game’s MVP.
Williams returned to Cleveland for the 2015-16 season after playing for the Los Angeles Clippers (2011-12), Portland Trail Blazers (2013-14), Minnesota Timberwolves (2014-15), and Charlotte Hornets (2015).
Williams and the Cavaliers won the NBA Finals in seven games in his final season in the league, defeating the Golden State Warriors in seven games.
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Mo Williams: Injury
Williams was excused from the team’s game in Dallas on January 12, 2015, to attend to a personal matter.
He began seeing more minutes in early February, but due to swelling in his left knee after being diagnosed with chondromalacia, he only played in one game between February 18 and March 24.
On March 26, he returned to the lineup, scoring eight points in 13 minutes off the bench against the New York Knicks.
In early April, he began to experience discomfort and increased soreness in his left knee, forcing him to miss more time. Williams saw limited action during the Cavaliers’ 2016 playoff run, which saw them reach the NBA Finals with a 12–2 record.
Williams did not return to the team for the 2016–17 season, and he had surgery on his left knee in October of that year.
Mo Williams: Retirement
Mo exercised his player option with the Cavaliers for the 2016–17 season on June 14, 2016, just before the end of the 2016 NBA Finals.
Williams had stated that the 2016–17 season would be his final, but he announced his retirement from the NBA on September 26, 2016. However, he never signed his retirement papers and remained on the Cavaliers’ roster.
The most difficult time of Williams’ career had been not being a rotation player in 2015–16, and while the exit of Matthew Dellavedova in the 2016 off-season established a spot at point guard, the Cavaliers drafted Kay Felder in the 2016 draft.
It left Williams as a third-string point guard for the second straight season.
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Post Retirement
Williams’ playing career was effectively ended when he was named an assistant coach for the Cal State Northridge Matadors men’s basketball team in May 2018.
The athlete was named head coach of the Alabama State Hornets basketball team in May 2020.
Furthermore, according to the Clarion-Ledger, former NBA basketball player will take over the collegiate men’s basketball team at Jackson State University.
Williams is the second former professional athlete to assume the role of head coach.
Williams was a competitive player who played in the NBA for well over a decade. In his last season in the NBA, he was named to the NBA All-Star team and won the championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Williams has a 14-35 record as a head coach, with a 10-23 conference record. When he took over the program after the 2019-20 season, Alabama State was 8-24. The Hornets last won a championship in 2015.
Mo Williams: Net Worth
Mo Williams’ net worth is estimated to be $20 million. Willaims’ net worth is largely derived from his time in the NBA and as a basketball head coach.
Mo signed a one-year contract with the Utah Jazz and earned $366,000 in his first professional season.
In 2004, the player signed a three-year, $5.2 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. Bucks’ contract was extended for another six years for $52 million in 2007.
In his first year, Williams was paid a base salary of $7.5 million, which increased by $1 million each year after that. He sold his 3,917 square foot home in Ohio for $1.3 million in 2011.
The Minnesota Timberwolves offered Mo a one-year, $3.75 million contract in 2014. Williams signed a two-year, $4.3 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers the following season, and he played alongside LeBron James.
Early Life and Family
Maurice Williams is Mo Williams’ legal name. Isaiah and Griceldia Williams are Williams’ parents.
Before retiring, Isaiah worked in management at an electric power company, and Griceldia worked as a special-education teacher, according to Cleveland.com.
At Mississippi Valley State, Isaiah Williams was a football player.
Mo Williams has three brothers and sisters. Michael is his older brother, Marcia is his older sister, and Montrell is his younger brother. Michael Williams was a member of the Army football team in 1992 and 1993.
Wife
Mo Williams married his wife Keisha in 2008.
“She was ecstatic,” Mo Williams told the Los Angeles Times about Keisha when he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2011 season.
“Obviously, this is the 1st time in my career that I’ve worked in a pleasant environment. I always preferred to play in colder climates. ‘That’s why I stuck it out with you,’ my wife said. As a result, I’m grateful to the Clippers for helping to keep my marriage together.”
They married in a private ceremony. Maurice Williams Jr., the couple’s first child, was born shortly after the wedding.
According to reports, the pair is the proud parents of five sons. Williams has become adept at keeping his personal life hidden from the public eye.
Mo Williams: Tattoo Meaning
According to Cleveland.com, Mo Williams and six high school friends went to Squench’s tattoo parlor in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2003, and all got the same tattoo.
They had “La Familia” written in Old English lettering vertically on their calves.
“It forever symbolizes us as a unit,” Williams told Cleveland.com. “We know we’re ‘La Familia’ no matter where we go in life. Whatever happens, we’ll be together. That’ll stay with me for the rest of my life.”
Trevis Carter, D’Jamel Jackson, Ashley Robinson, Juan Jones, Demond Wallace, and Jason Larry were among the six men who got tattoos from Williams.
Social Media Presence
Williams is a social media sensation in addition to being a basketball player. On his social media accounts, the player has a huge fan base.
The athlete is not present on Instagram at the moment. The following is a link to his social media account:
- Twitter– 167.4k followers
FAQs
How good was Mo Williams?
Mo Williams is far from a star, averaging only 17 points per game. He is now ranked 39th on the list, a long way from the top 24. He only has a 4.1 APG, which places him in 41st place.
Does Mo Williams have something to do with Cav’s loss to Orlando?
Mo Williams didn’t have that kind of talent. He was a good but flawed player who made his team better than it would have been without him. He had nothing to do with the Cavs’ loss to Orlando, Boston, or LeBron’s decision to move to Miami.