Walt Williams

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For other uses, see: Walter Williams (disambiguation).

Walter (Walt) Ander Williams (born April 16, 1970 in Washington, D.C.) is an American former professional basketball player. A sharpshooting 6'8" forward/guard, Williams attended school at the University of Maryland from 1988 to 1992, and is credited by many for resurrecting the school's basketball program which was going through very difficult times.

Williams began his Maryland career only two years after the death of star Len Bias and the ensuing scandal that cost Lefty Driesell his job as coach. When Williams arrived at Maryland, the Terrapins were also on the verge of receiving major sanctions from the NCAA due to violations committed by Driesell's successor, Bob Wade that would lead to his resignation. Rather than transfer to another school, Williams chose to remain at Maryland and play under new coach Gary Williams. It was a tremendous boost for the coach, who had to start rebuilding the program from the bottom up while dealing with both the sanctions and tougher academic standards now imposed by the school.

Williams was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the seventh pick of the 1992 NBA Draft. He went on to play 11 seasons in the NBA, spending time with the Kings, the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Houston Rockets, and the Dallas Mavericks. He scored 8,285 points in his career.

Walt Williams appeared in the Hootie and the Blowfish music video for "Only Wanna Be with You"

He now lives in Maryland with his family and works as a color commentator on Comcast SportsNet's "Wizards Post Game Live," a show that analyzes the performance of the NBA's Washington Wizards. His use of English on the air is often flawed, for example, saying "we was" instead of "we were."