Tavares Montgomery Williams, known as Monty Williams, was Born on October 8, 1971, in the Fredericksburg, Virginia. He is currently working as a head coach of the Phoenix Suns. From 2010 to 2015, he worked as the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans and an assistant coach for the USA national team head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Monty Williams – Playing Career
With a height of 203 cm, Monty Williams played as a small forward at the University of Notre Dame. In senior year, Williams earned an honorable mention as an All-American, averaging 22.4 points and 8.4 rebounds. Williams was selected in the 1994 NBA draft as the 24th pick by the New York Knicks, despite earlier attended heart problems.
Williams played in NBA for 9 seasons from 1994 to 2003. He played for several teams: New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, and Philadelphia Seventy Sixers. In total, Williams played 456 games in the NBA and averaged 2,884 points (6.3 points per game average). In April 1997, he scored 30 points, setting a personal record, playing for the San Antonio against Denver Nuggets.
Problems with the knee forced him to end his playing career earlier than expected in 2003.
Monty Williams – Assistant Coach Career
Monty Williams’ coaching career started off with a boom. In 2005, Williams became the NBA champion as an intern at the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff. Coach Popovich was delighted with Monty’s basketball knowledge, and he praised him several times.
After that season, he became Nate McMillan‘s assistant at the Portland Trail Blazers. Williams stayed in Portland for five seasons before getting his first chance as a head coach.
Monty Williams – New Orleans Hornets
In 2010, Williams was offered a three-year contract as head coach of the New Orleans Hornets. When he started working with the Hornets, Monty Williams was the youngest coach in the NBA (38 years old).
In his first season with the New Orleans team finished the season with a score of 46-36 and got into the playoffs, which they lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Hornets had on their roster a young Chris Paul, who will later become one of the best point guards in the league history.
Next three seasons, they haven’t reached the playoffs, mainly because of injuries of their leading players.
In August 2012, Williams accepted a four-year contract extension with the Hornets (Pelicans since 2013).
In June 2013, Williams assumed the role of assistant coach for the US national team. He represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the US team won a gold medal.
The New Orleans Pelicans finished the 2014/15 season with 45 wins and 37 losses and made it to the playoffs one more time, where the Golden State Warriors defeated them in the first round. In May 2015, Williams was fired from his post as head coach of New Orleans because the organization wanted to see better results, especially in the Playoffs.
In five seasons with the Pelicans, Williams’s record was 173-221 in the regular season. He has won two games in the playoffs and lost eight of them. Critics said that he is inexperienced in coaching the team when matters the most.
Monty Williams – Oklahoma City Thunder
In June 2015, Williams became the associate head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. His episode with The Thunder didn’t last long. In the summer of 2016, the team front office announced that Williams would not remain with the Oklahoma coaching staff.
In June 2018, Brett Brown has announced that Williams will join the Philadelphia 76ers as the lead assistant coach. Brown believed that Monty Williams coaching and playing experiences would help his young team overcome some bad seasons and build a winning mentality.
After a good year with Philadelphia, several teams considered hiring Williams. He was mentioned as a possible coach of Oklahoma and Milwaukee, but Phoenix Suns have won the race in the end.
Monty Williams – Phoenix Suns Head Coach
After a not-so-successful season under coach Igor Kokoskov (First European to become NBA head coach), the Suns have decided to start a new era.
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In May 2019, the Phoenix Suns announced the appointment of Monty Williams as head coach under general manager James Jones. The organization believed that Williams’s charisma would influence their young squad and help them win more games.
On November 16, 2020, Williams reunited with star point guard Chris Paul after last coaching him back in 2011 when they were at the New Orleans Hornets. That was the turning point for the team because they finally had a veteran leader and someone who could help Devin Booker develop his game to the All-Star level.
Following the 2020-2021 season, Monty Williams was named NBCA Coach of the Year.
TweetPhoenix Suns played great basketball all year long, and Williams led the Suns to reach NBA Finals, where Milwaukee Bucks stopped them. Suns have won the first two games of the series, and nobody expected to lose four in a row.
That was their longest losing streak of the year. Before reaching the Finals, the Suns beat Los Angeles Lakers( defending champions) in the first round and sent home Denver Nuggets and the league MVP Nikola Jokic in the second round. In the Western Conference finals, they beat Los Angeles Clippers 4-2.
Season 2021-2022 started great for the Phoenix. Monty Williams was honored with the 2021-2022 NBA Coach of the Year Award.
Monty Williams – Front Office Career
In 2016, Williams became the vice-president of basketball operations San Antonio Spurs. In June 2017, Williams received the Sager Strong Award.
Monty Williams – Personal life
February 10, 2016, Williams’s wife, Ingrid, died from injuries sustained in a car accident. She was only 44 years old. The accident happened in Oklahoma while Ingrid was driving three of their kids.
A car that was going towards lost control and crossed lanes. The woman driving the car was going twice the speed limit, and per reports, she held her dog in her lap. Later was announced that the female driver had taken a hefty dose of methamphetamine.
Monty delivered an emotional speech at his wife’s funeral where he reminded everyone of Ingrid’s life. He also stated that their belief in God was the thing that pushed them through hard times in life and that his family can’t give up now. He ended by saying that one day God will reunite him with Ingrid.
Monty has five beautiful and strong children: Lael, Janna, Elijah, Micah, and Faith.
Personal tragedy has changed the way how he is coaching the game. Wiliams is not afraid to show their players that he loves them unconditionally no matter the result. His team embraced that approach and helped their coach to have the best season of his career.
Monty Williams remarried a couple of years after the tragedy to Lisa Keeth, an ex volleyball player. Lisa Keeth Williams is working as a senior manager of Partnership Activation for San Antonio Spurs.
What is Monty Williams’ Net Worth?
Monty Williams’ net worth is estimated to be around $9 million, and his annual salary is around $2.7 million.
Did Monty Williams and Chris Paul play together?
On November 16th, 2020, Williams reunited with star point guard Chris Paul. He last coached him in 2011 when they were with the New Orleans Hornets.
What teams did Monty Williams play for?
Monty Williams played for several teams during his NBA career. He started out with the New York Knicks, then spent time with the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, and Philadelphia 76ers.
