Willie Anderson
Born: January 8, 1967
Position: Shooting Guard
Height: 6-8 (2.03 m)
Jerseys worn: #40
In the NBA:
Nickname: "Chill"
His Game:
Willie Anderson was a very versatile player. He could score, pass, rebound and defend. Taller than most guards and faster than most forwards, he could create miss-matches to opposite teams.
His Career:
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1988 Draft (#10 overall), Anderson spent the most and the best years of his career in San Antonio. During his rookie season (1988-'99), he made an immediate impact on a team that won very few games. His all-around stats by the end of the year were very impressive for a rookie: 18.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game while shooting almost 50% in field goals. With the addition of David Robinson, the Spurs became a force in the league. Anderson wasn't the top option on offense anymore so he scored less but kept contributing to the team in many ways. In 1992 he averaged career-highs in rebounds (5.3) and assists (5.3) but played only 57 games due to the first serious injury of his career. The following year he played even less games (38). He returned healthy for the 1993-'94 season and had a solid year (11.9 points, 3 rebounds, 4.3 assists) but obviously had lost a bit of his athleticism. The next year he got injured again and scored only 4.9 points in 38 games.
He began the 1995-'96 season with the Toronto Raptors and was a solid starter once again, but midway through the season he got traded to the New York Knicks where he was coming off the bench. Returning from Europe, In 1996-'97 he signed with the Miami Heat and played 28 games with poor stats (3 points in 11 minutes per game).
Honors:
He was a member of the 1989 All-Rookie Team.
Statistics:
| YEAR |
Team |
Games |
Pts |
FT % |
FG % |
3PM |
3-pt % |
Reb |
Trn |
Ast |
St |
Blk |
Min |
Star? |
| 1989 |
San Antonio |
81 |
18.6 |
.775 |
.498 |
4 |
.190 |
5.1 |
3.2 |
4.6 |
1.9 |
0.8 |
33.8 |
YES |
| 1990 |
San Antonio |
82 |
15.7 |
.748 |
.492 |
7 |
.269 |
4.5 |
2.4 |
4.4 |
1.4 |
0.7 |
34.0 |
YES |
| 1991 |
San Antonio |
75 |
14.4 |
.798 |
.457 |
7 |
.200 |
4.7 |
2.2 |
4.8 |
1.1 |
0.6 |
34.6 |
YES |
| 1992 |
San Antonio |
57 |
13.1 |
.775 |
.455 |
13 |
.232 |
5.3 |
2.5 |
5.3 |
0.9 |
0.9 |
33.1 |
YES |
| 1993 |
San Antonio |
38 |
4.8 |
.786 |
.430 |
1 |
.125 |
1.5 |
1.2 |
2.1 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
14.7 |
No |
| 1994 |
San Antonio |
80 |
11.9 |
.848 |
.471 |
22 |
.324 |
3.0 |
1.9 |
4.3 |
0.9 |
0.6 |
31.1 |
YES |
| 1995 |
San Antonio |
38 |
4.9 |
.732 |
.469 |
3 |
.158 |
1.4 |
1.0 |
1.4 |
0.7 |
0.3 |
14.6 |
No |
| 1996 |
Toronto / New York |
76 |
9.8 |
.810 |
.436 |
34 |
.283 |
3.2 |
1.9 |
2.6 |
1.0 |
0.8 |
27.1 |
No |
| 1997 |
Miami |
28 |
3.0 |
.850 |
.453 |
8 |
.421 |
1.5 |
0.7 |
1.2 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
10.8 |
No |
| Career |
Career |
555 |
12.2 |
.786 |
.471 |
99 |
.266 |
3.8 |
2.1 |
3.8 |
1.1 |
0.6 |
28.8 |
YES |
In Europe:
In Greece:
Anderson started the 1996-'97 season in Greece with Olympiakos and showed flashes of a skilled all-around player but had problems with his coach so he was waived before the midseason.
In the beginning of the 1997-'98 season he replaced Ricky Pierce in AEK and enjoyed the last good year of his career. Especially in the Euroleague games, he was impressive and boosted the team with his energy. He led AEK to the 1998 European Final Four and scored a team-high 21 points in the semifinal. AEK advanced to the finals where they got trapped by Italian team Kinder Bologna's strong defense and lost.
In Israel:
He signed with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv for the 1998-'99 season but didn't play well and was released soon.