Natalie Jean Williams (born November 30, 1970) is an American basketball executive and former player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Williams was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. She was also an accomplished volleyball player at UCLA. From 2022 to 2024, Williams served as the General Manager of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces.
Early years
Williams is the daughter of Nate Williams, a former basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City-Omaha Kings, New Orleans Jazz and the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association during an eight-year career.
Although she was born in Southern California, she went to high school at Taylorsville High School in Utah.
She also has two half brothers and one half sister. Both of her brothers played basketball but her sister chose to focus her athletic abilities on tennis.
College years
She attended the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and graduated there in 1994. She was a four-year letter-winner in both basketball and volleyball, and is the first woman to earn All-America honors in both basketball and volleyball in the same year. She also led UCLA to NCAA volleyball titles in 1990 and 1991. She won the Honda-Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate volleyball player in both 1992 and 1993.
UCLA statistics
Source
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!Points
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!SPG
!BPG
!PPG
|-
|1993-94
|UCLA
|24
|561
|57.0%
|51.7%
|13.1
|1.3
|3.0
|1.0
|23.4
|-
|1992-93
|UCLA
|23
|488
|47.3%
|74.8%
|13.5
|1.2
|2.5
|1.4
|21.2
|-
|1991-92
|UCLA
|23
|495
|56.0%
|63.1%
|13.8
|1.3
|2.8
|1.3
|21.5
|-
|1990-91
|UCLA
|19
|269
|50.0%
|67.0%
|10.3
|0.7
|1.6
|0.6
|14.2
|-
|Career
|UCLA
|89
|1813
|52.8%
|63.2%
|12.8
|1.1
|2.5
|1.1
|20.4
|}
ABL career
Natalie Williams played three seasons for the Portland Power in the American Basketball League (ABL). She was traded to the Long Beach Stingrays in April 1998, but when the team folded, she was reassigned to the Power. She was a two-time All-ABL first team selection, the 1998 ABL M.V.P., finished her first season as the league's top rebounder, averaging 12.5 rebounds per game, and on January 9, 1998, she grabbed a league record 22 rebounds.
WNBA career
After the ABL folded, she was selected by her hometown team, the Utah Starzz in the first round (third pick overall) of the 1999 WNBA draft on May 4, 1999.
She played with the Starzz from 1999 to 2002. However, just a few weeks prior to the start of the 2003 season, she was traded to the Indiana Fever in a multi-player deal on May 1, 2003.
Prior to the start of the 2005 season, Williams announced that she would retire after the season ended, saying that she will concentrate on raising her adopted twins, as well as serving as an assistant coach for Skyline' high school Girls basketball team in Salt Lake City, Utah, and launching a new career in the real estate business. She is remembered by fans as one of the best rebounding power forwards in the early history of the WNBA.
USA Basketball
Williams was invited to be a member of the Jones Cup team representing the US in 1996. She helped the team to a 9–0 record, and the gold medal in the event. Williams averaged 9.1 points per game. She also recorded 7.0 rebounds per game, highest on the team.
External links
- WNBA Player Profile
- September 18, 2005 Salt Lake Tribune article on her impending retirement
- Natalie Williams on Real Champions