Lou Williams, the straight-out-of-high-school gunslinger of a guard who was taken with the No. 45 pick and went on to win three Sixth Man of the Year awards, has officially announced his retirement from the NBA.
Williams, who did not play in the league last season, made the announcement in a moving video dropped Sunday morning (you can see the video above).
Williams was a fan favorite everywhere he went because he was a walking bucket — he scored more points off the bench, 13,396, than any player in NBA history.
The Philadelphia 76ers drafted him with the No. 45 pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and he went on to score more points and play in more games than anyone in that draft class other than Chris Paul (topping Monta Ellis, Deron Williams, Raymond Felton, Channing Frye, Jarrett Jack and many others). Williams ultimately played for six teams – Philadelphia, Toronto, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta — but maybe his best seasons came with the Clippers. There, running a pick-and-roll with fellow Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell, he was a bench force during the Lob City era.
Williams went on to win three Sixth Man of the Year awards, only Jamal Crawford equaled that mark.
Williams added to his legend in the bubble when he was permitted to leave the bubble in Orlando to attend a memorial service for a family member in Atlanta. While in the ATL he swung by the Magic City strip club for a meal — the club does sell “LouWill lemon pepper BBQ wings” — and when rapper Jack Harlow posted a photo of them together at the club, the NBA sent Williams back to quarantine, causing him to miss games but providing a great story.
The league has seen few more entertaining players than Williams, who will be missed.