Cleveland Cavaliers: 15 greatest draft steals in franchise history
By John Buhler
- Nine seasons w/Cavaliers (1986-95)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1986-87)
- 661 career games w/Cavaliers
- 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 blocks per game w/Cavaliers
Hot Rod Williams may have never been an NBA All-Star, or an NBA champion for that matter, but he was a beloved frontcourt player for the Cavaliers during their greatest run in franchise history until LeBron James came along. Williams played nine seasons with the Cavaliers from 1986 to 1995, being a great rotational big man the entire time.
Cleveland used its No. 45 overall pick to select the power forward/center out of Tulane University in the 1985 NBA Draft. He may have had a strong Cleveland career, but there was a reason for him dropping to late in the second round. Williams was on trial for a point shaving scandal while at Tulane. He was found not guilty on all of his charges, but had to wait a year to play in the NBA.
Williams would make the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1986-87 when he averaged 14.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.9 assists per game in 33.9 minutes per contest. Every year that Williams played in Cleveland he averaged double figures in scoring. Keep in mind that nearly half of his games with the Cavaliers had him coming off the bench as a sixth man of sorts.
Arguably his best season as a professional came in 1989-90, as Williams averaged 16.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. He did in this 33.9 minutes per contest, appearing in all 82 games, but only starting in 29 of them. Cleveland would end up making the NBA playoffs in six of Williams’ nine years in Northeast Ohio.
Before the 1995-96 NBA season, Williams would be traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Antonio Lang for Dan Majerle and a future first-round pick, which was later used on Brevin Knight. From there, Williams played three seasons in the Valley of the Sun and one with the Dallas Mavericks before retiring at the age of 36 in 1999.
Overall, Williams averaged 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 blocks per game in 661 career games with the Cavaliers. He was the franchise leader in career blocks before Zydrunas Ilgauskas came along. Though his number isn’t retired by the Cavaliers, he is one of the greatest players in franchise history. Sadly, he passed away in 2015 at the age of 53 to colon cancer.