Second oldest player to have participated in an NBA meeting, Kevin Willis is most often cited as a monster of longevity. Quick look back on his long, long, loooong career, from Atlanta to Dallas, through a title with the Spurs.
Draft 1984, famous cuvée where we find renowned Hall of Famers, namely, at random, Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley or John Stockton. In the midst of these beautiful blases? Just slip into eleventh place a certain Kevin Willis, then selected by the Atlanta Hawks. Strong interior of 2m13 for 100 kilos, Kevin Willis will remain nine years in Georgia with for partners, among others, Dominique Wilkins, Doc Rivers or Spud Webb. Athletic and powerful, Willis is a big rebounder quite mobile, with good little mimines not to spoil anything. In 1992, with 18.3 points and 10.4 rebounds on average, he will even be… All-Star, for the only time in his career. After leaving Atlanta in 1994, he went on to travel a lot. Miami, Golden State, Houston, Toronto, Denver and finally San Antonio, sacred road trip for a Kevin Willis who could himself be the next backpacker’s guide. Finally, it is onlyin 2003 at Spurs that he won his first and only NBA title, in the evening of Game 6 also marked by the apex of Tim Duncan, by the retirement of David Robinson and the first title of Tony Parker. Deserved for an exemplary player who shot 12.1 points and 8.4 rebounds in his career and who will stay much more than a garbage collector who knew how to take care of his body while beating those of others.
Kevin Willis will then return to Atlanta in 2004 to retire for the first time, before returning a year later, at the Mavs, with a 10-day contract which will allow him to play five small games with Dallas at… 44 years old. Enough to pass Robert Parish, who had played at 43 with the Bulls in 1996-97, in the ranking of the oldest players to have participated in an NBA meeting. All that remains in front of him is this crook of Hat Hickey, trainer of the Providence Steamrollers who had… made himself enter at 45 years and 363 days in 1948. Another era, and we would therefore almost want to grant the title of oldest player to Kevin Willis as a birthday present. Playing this old shows a certain ability to take care of oneself to last and, moreover, the Kev now holds the sixth total of regular season games played with 1,424 games to his name, the highest number among the no Hall of Famers, or 1,424 more than Frederic Weis. Another ranking, that of the number of NBA seasons played, and the former pivot is also very good because si Vince Carter holds the lead with 22 seasons, just behind the legends Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Robert Parish and… Kevin Willis follows him with 21 seasons on the clock. Knowing that Willis was injured an entire season in Atlanta and took a year off, the standings could have been different. But be careful because two monsters and a cop are approaching. Indeed, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Udonis Haslem are each going to start their 19th season, and something tells us that the first nominated could soon pass in front of everyone, yes yes, the one who still runs at 8/26/8 every evenings of the year.
Enormous longevity therefore for Kevin Willis, a player who might even have deserved a place in the Hall of Fame with another alignment of planets. 59 years old this September 6, 2021 for the interior, then happy birthday the old one, and maybe next year for a return to the Nets for a ten-day contract.
Source texte : basketball reference
