Illinois Basketball: Remembering Deron Williams’ run in the Olympics
As the men’s Olympic basketball team sets to tip-off on Sunday, let’s take a look back at former Illinois basketball superstar Deron Williams and his tear through multiple Olympic games.
There are a lot of people who don’t remember how good the former Illini legend was on the basketball court. They just see Chris Paul playing today and think he was always the best point guard since coming into the league. Well, that wasn’t always the case. Williams was one-two with Paul for much of his career.
After three solid years with the Utah Jazz in which he averaged 18.8 points, 10.5 assists, 3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in year three, Williams was invited to the 2008 USA Olympic team.
Illinois basketball star Deron Williams was a part of the Redeem Team.
The United States was coming off a 2004 Olympics where they finished an embarrassing third place, which was the first time we hadn’t won gold since professional players started suiting up. So, the 2008 games were big for USA basketball, and they didn’t disappoint. By the end of things, the Redeem Team showed why we are truly the best country in the world when it comes to basketball.
Williams was a big part of that Redeem Team. The closest game in the run to the gold medal was in the gold medal game against Spain where the United States still won 118-107. That 11-point margin is the closest any team would come to the Red, White and Blue that summer.
The starters for every game consisted of Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, LeBron James and Jason Kidd. But the bench was also stacked, aided by a talented point guard in Williams. He would end up averaging 8 points, 2.8 assists and 2.3 rebounds per contest in the gold medal run. Considering how many talented players needed the ball, those are pretty good numbers.
Williams’ stint with the Olympic basketball team wasn’t finished with the Redeem Team. He had another run in him for the 2012 games as well.
The Jazz traded Williams to the New Jersey Nets during the 2010-11 season. Leading into the 2012 Olympic games, Williams averaged 21 points, 8.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in the final season the Nets were in New Jersey. These impressive numbers are why Williams once again earned a spot on the best team the world could put together.
USA basketball trounced through their eight-game schedule to take home gold once again. They did have a couple of close matchups, but they ended up defeating Spain in the gold medal game, 107-100.
The starters for the 2012 Olympic games included Kobe, LeBron, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Tyson Chandler. Williams was one of the first players off the bench, though. He also put up some impressive numbers along the way. He would finish the 2012 Olympics averaging 9 points, 4.6 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game.
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That 2012 Olympic games would be the final one for Williams. He would go on to have a legendary career that would consist of making the All-Rookie team, three NBA All-Star games and he made All-NBA on two different occasions. But I am not sure anything even compares to the two gold medals he won with the United States. He was a true legend and one no one ever should forget.