Will Davis (basketball)

William Sidney Davis II[1] (born November 9, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Nairobi City Thunder of the KBF Premier League and Road to BAL. He played college basketball at UC Irvine.

Will Davis
Nairobi City Thunder
PositionPower forward / center
LeagueKBF Premier League
Personal information
Born (1992-11-09) November 9, 1992 (age 31)
Yolo County, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeUC Irvine (2011–2015)
NBA draft2015: undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2016Kolossos Rodou
20162018Reno Bighorns
2018Windy City Bulls
2018AEK Larnaca
2018–2019Al Wasl
2019Long Island Nets
2019–2020Steaua București
2021–2022South Bay Lakers
2022Raptors 905
2022College Park Skyhawks
2022Regatas Corrientes
2023Spartans Distrito Capital
2023–2024NBA G League Ignite
2024Spartans Distrito Capital
2024–presentNairobi City Thunder
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-Big West (2015)
  • Big West Defensive Player of the Year (2013)
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA AmeriCup
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Brazil

Early life and high school

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Davis was born and grew up in Sacramento, California, and attended Sacramento High School. He was 5-foot-9 as a freshman but grew to 6-5 by the end of his sophomore year. Davis played on the junior varsity basketball until his junior year and did not see significant playing time until his senior season, when he averaged 9.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. After receiving interest from only one Division I basketball program, Davis opted to complete a fifth year at the New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire.[2]

College career

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Davis played four seasons for the Anteaters and was the team's starting power forward for his final three. As a freshman, Davis set the school record for blocks in a season with 55. He was named the Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and broke his previous school record and led the conference with 88 blocked shots.[3] As a senior, Davis was named first team All-Big West and led the team with 12.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 Big West Conference tournament as UC Irvine won its first conference championship and received its first-ever bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.[2] He finished his career with a school-record 208 blocks (4th most in Big West history), 852 career rebounds (2nd in school history) and 8th in scoring with 1,384 points.[4]

Professional career

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Kolossos Rodou (2015–2016)

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Davis signed with Kolossos Rodou B.C. of the Greek Basket League (GBL) on August 20, 2015.[5] In his first professional season, Davis averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds and 18.2 minutes played in 28 games (six starts).[6]

Reno Bighorns (2016–2018)

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Davis was selected by the Reno Bighorns in the second round of the 2016 NBA Development League draft.[7] He averaged 9.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks over 42 games for the Bighorns during the 2016–17 G League season and finished 6th in the G-League in field goal percentage with .611 and 8th with an offensive rating of 124.9.[8] In his second season with Reno, Davis averaged 8.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 18.6 minutes per game in 32 games before being traded.[9]

Windy City Bulls (2018)

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The Bighorns traded Davis to the Windy City Bulls on February 22, 2018.[10] He averaged 4.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in 14 games with the Bulls and 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 46 total G-League games. Davis was selected in the 2018 NBA G League Expansion Draft by the Capital City Go-Go.[11]

Larnaca (2018)

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Following the G-League season, Davis signed with AEK Larnaca of the Cypriot Basketball League on August 6, 2018.[12] Davis only appeared in two games with Larnaca before leaving the team, both in the qualifying round of the 2018–19 Basketball Champions League, scoring 28 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.[13]

Al Wasl (2018–2019)

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After leaving Larnaca, Davis signed with Al Wasl of the UAE National Basketball League.

Long Island Nets (2019)

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Davis returned to the G-League after his overseas rights were acquired in a trade from the Go-Go by the Long Island Nets on February 20, 2019.[11] Davis played in 10 regular season games with the Nets, averaging 4.6 points and 3.0 rebounds with 11.5 minutes played per game and appeared sparingly in two playoff games as Long Island eventually lost in the G-League Finals to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[8]

Steaua București (2019–2020)

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Davis signed with Steaua București of the Romanian Liga Națională on September 24, 2019.[14]

South Bay Lakers (2021–2022)

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On December 30, 2021, Davis was acquired by the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League.[15] Davis was then later waived on February 2, 2022.[16]

Raptors 905 (2022)

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On February 7, 2022, Davis was acquired via the available player pool by the Raptors 905. On February 12, 2022, Davis was waived by the Raptors 905.[17]

College Park Skyhawks (2022)

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On February 24, 2022, Davis was acquired via available player pool by the College Park Skyhawks.[18]

NBA G League Ignite (2023–2024)

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On November 9, 2023, Davis was acquired by the NBA G League Ignite.[19]

Return to Spartans (2024)

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On April 5, 2024, Davis re-signed with Spartans Distrito Capital.[20]

Nairobi City Thunder (2024–present)

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On September 19, 2024, Davis signed with Kenyan champions Nairobi City Thunder of the KBF Premier League, and will join the team in their Road to BAL campaign.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "William Sidney Davis was born on November 9, 1992 in Yolo County, California". californiabirthindex.org. California Birth Index. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Keisser, Bob (March 18, 2015). "UC Irvine's Will Davis II has left his mark on program". Orange County Register. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  3. ^ Paterson, Bill (November 27, 2013). "Nation's tallest player, former Sac High star to test Sac State men's basketball team". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  4. ^ "Davis on Lakers summer roster". Los Angeles Times. July 2, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  5. ^ "Davis signs with Greek pro team". Los Angeles Times. August 20, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "Will Davis". USAB.com. USA Basketball. August 21, 2017. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  7. ^ Reichert, Chris (October 30, 2016). "2016 D-League Draft Review And Trade Recap". 2Ways10Days.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Will Davis G-League Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  9. ^ Robbins, Jesse (February 12, 2018). "BIGHORNS ACQUIRE DANIEL OCHEFU, 2018 THIRD-ROUND DRAFT SELECTION AND RIGHTS TO SPENCER DINWIDDIE IN THREE-TEAM TRADE". Stockton.GLeague.NBA.com. Stockton Kings. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Kenney, Madeline (February 22, 2018). "Windy City Bulls acquire CJ Fair, Will Davis II, Alex Hamilton". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Long Island Nets Acquire Returning Player Rights to Will Davis II in Trade with Capital City". LongIsland.GLeague.NBA.com. Long Island Nets. February 20, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  12. ^ Mammides, Chris (August 6, 2018). "Will Davis II is a newcomer at AEK Larnaca". EuroBasket.com. EuroBasket Data Center. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  13. ^ Watson, Phil (February 20, 2019). "Long Island Nets acquire rights to Will Davis in trade". NothinButNets.com. FanSided. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  14. ^ Istrate, David (September 24, 2019). "Will Davis is the new player of CSA Steaua Bucharest". Baschet.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  15. ^ "2021–22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. December 30, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  16. ^ "2021–22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  17. ^ "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  18. ^ "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". NBA.com. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  19. ^ "2023-2024 NBA G League Ignite Transactions History". RealGM.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  20. ^ Romero, Gerardo Javier (April 5, 2024). "Will Davis regresa con Spartans para la SPB". LiderEnDeportes.com (in Spanish). Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  21. ^ Olobulu, Timothy (2024-09-20). "League champions Thunder pack up squad with three foreign additions". Capital Sports. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
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