Lou Williams has called it a career – on his own terms.
The South Gwinnett High star, who had two different stints with the Hawks, has decided to step away from the NBA after 17 seasons.
In a video posted Sunday morning on a pair of social media accounts, the 36-year-old Williams, who last played during the 2021-22 season for his hometown Hawks, announced his retirement in a Father’s Day message.
The video included highlights of Williams’ lengthy NBA career - a career which began immediately after twice being named Mr. Georgia Basketball after his senior season at South Gwinnett High.
The announcement was made with a YouTube video, which featured Williams’ daughter as the narrator and writing a letter describing his career highlights, including the highs and the lows.
“You’ve chosen to announce your farewell, but still fulfilling your legacy within us,” his daughter said in the video. “You gave it all that you could give. You left nothing more to unturn. And I’m truly proud of you, dad. On behalf of the game, the fans and all those you touched, we salute you.”
Of the many highlights of Williams career, he leaves the game as a three-time winner of the Sixth Man Award and scoring 13,396 of his 15,593 career points off the bench, the NBA record for points as a non-starter.
Other highlights include:
-Second-round pick (No. 45 overall) by the Sixers in the 2005 draft, only months after his high school career ended.
-Signed with Hawks as a free agent in 2012 after seven seasons with the Sixers.
-Won the first of his three Sixth Man of the Year awards after being traded by the Hawks to the Raptors before the 2014-15 season.
-Also played for the Lakers (2015-17), the Rockets and the Clippers, where he earned his second and third Sixth Man trophies. He is one of just two players to ever win the award three times. Former Hawk Jamal Crawford is the other.
-Re-joined the Hawks in a 2021 trade, provided a key veteran presence during the team’s run to the Eastern Conference finals. He scored 21 points in the Game 4 blowout win over the Bucks.
Williams re-signed with the Hawks the following year, but injuries limited him toward the end of the 2021-22 season. He did not sign with a team last season.
He ends his career with over 1,123 games played and averages of 13.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
During his career, the court at South Gwinnett High was named for Williams, dubbed LouWillVille. He was a four-time All-State selection. He was named Mr. Georgia Basketball after both his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, Williams was named the Naismith Prep Player of the Year, a McDonald’s All-American and was first-team Parade All-American. He finished his career as the second all-time leading scorer in Georgia high school basketball history. Williams ran youth basketball camps at South Gwinnett during the summer.
“A lot of these kids, we’ve grown up together,” Williams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2014 at his camp. “When we are playing one-on-one and we are trash talking, it’s because I’ve known half these kids for four or five years already. They have been coming to the camp repeatedly.”
Williams had signed to play collegiately at Georgia before opting to do directly to the NBA.
The video also highlighted Williams’ achievements, done in the background of stardom.
As his daughter narrated: “These achievements shine in light, but were born in the shadows. Injuries, struggles and relocations all threatened your will to keep going. And time and time again, you rose. Proving to yourself and your peers, that you are the Underground GOAT.”
The video ends with the simple message: “Well done, Underground.”
- Chris Vivlamore contributed to this report.
