Billy Owens

Billy Eugene Owens (born May 1, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Syracuse, where he was an All-American and the 1991 Big East Conference Player of the Year. Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Owens played for Carlisle High School.

For the American football player, see Billy Owens (American football). For other people with a similar name, see William Owens (disambiguation).
Billy Owens
Owens (left) pictured with a fan in 2002
Personal information
Born (1969-05-01) May 1, 1969
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolCarlisle (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
CollegeSyracuse (1988–1991)
NBA draft1991 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career1991–2001
PositionSmall forward / Shooting guard
Number30, 32, 5
Career history
1991–1994Golden State Warriors
1994–1996Miami Heat
1996–1998Sacramento Kings
1999Seattle SuperSonics
1999–2000Philadelphia 76ers
2000Golden State Warriors
2000–2001Detroit Pistons
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points7,026 (11.7 ppg)
Rebounds4,016 (6.7 rpg)
Assists1,704 (2.8 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA Americas Championship
1989 Mexico City Team competition
World Championship
1990 Buenos Aires Team competition
Goodwill Games
1990 Seattle Team competition

Amateur career

As a high school senior, Owens averaged 34 points per game, and helped lead Carlisle High School (Pennsylvania) to four consecutive state titles. He was considered to be the second best prep player of 1988, behind Alonzo Mourning. Owens and Mourning were co-MVP's in the McDonald's' Game. Throughout his career, Owens drew some comparisons to Magic Johnson due to his great versatility, ball handling and passing skills for his height.[1]

In his three seasons with Syracuse he averaged 17.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game out of 103 games.[2] In his junior season he was named Big East Player of the Year.[3]

Professional career

As a 6'8" small forward/shooting guard from Syracuse University, he was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the 1991 NBA draft. However, after Owens remained a holdout beyond the start of the regular season, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for high-scoring guard Mitch Richmond.[4] The trade broke up the popular "Run TMC" trio of Mitch Richmond, Tim Hardaway, and Chris Mullin; Owens' additional height compared to Richmond was the size that coach and general manager Don Nelson believed would complete the team.[5][6][7] Nelson said he "was under pressure to get [the team] bigger" to improve the Warriors from a good team to a great one.[8]

Owens averaged over 15 points and nearly eight rebounds during his tenure with the Warriors, including an NBA All-Rookie First Team selection in 1992. The Warriors improved from 44 to 55 games won in his first season. However, he never provided his expected impact and played only three seasons with Golden State.[5][6] Owens spent ten seasons with the Warriors, Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Detroit Pistons before a string of injuries finally took its toll; his career ended in 2001.[9]

National team

He played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.[10] In the same year, he also represented the United States at the Goodwill Games in Seattle and led the team in scoring en route to a silver medal.[11]

NBA player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1991–92 Golden State 807731.4.525.111.6548.02.41.10.814.3
1992–93 Golden State 373732.5.501.091.6397.13.90.90.816.5
1993–94 Golden State 797234.7.507.200.6108.14.11.10.815.0
1994–95 Miami 706032.8.491.091.6207.23.51.10.414.3
1995–96 Miami 404034.7.505.000.6337.23.40.80.614.8
1995–96 Sacramento 221127.0.420.417.6435.73.20.90.79.9
1996–97 Sacramento 665630.2.467.347.6975.92.80.90.411.0
1997–98 Sacramento 787830.1.464.371.5897.52.81.20.510.5
1998–99 Seattle 211921.5.394.455.8003.81.80.60.27.8
1999–00 Philadelphia 46720.0.434.333.5944.21.30.60.35.9
1999–00 Golden State 16424.1.380.286.5956.82.40.40.36.4
2000–01 Detroit 451417.6.383.150.4754.61.20.70.34.4
Career 60047529.4.481.291.6296.72.80.90.511.7

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1992 Golden State 4439.3.526–.6308.33.32.00.519.3
1994 Golden State 3342.3.500.000.75010.04.31.30.719.7
1996 Sacramento 4432.8.441.000.5006.53.51.00.38.3
Career 111137.7.496.000.6448.13.61.50.515.4

References
  1. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1142560/index.htm Head Of The Class
  2. "Billy Owens Stats". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  3. "#30 Billy Owens". orangehoops.org. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  4. Sports Illustrated
  5. Howard-Cooper, Scott (August 23, 2011). "Time can't fade indelible mark Run TMC left on Warriors, NBA". NBA.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013.
  6. Hoffman, Benjamin (February 16, 2013). "Fascination Lingers for Three Stars of Warriors' Brief Run". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013.
  7. Wolff, Alexander (December 2, 1991). "The Golden West". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013.
  8. Osborne, Ben (January 3, 2011). "Original Old School: Run & Shoot & Shoot…". SlamOnline.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  9. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG101141/index.htm Note From The Underground
  10. 1990 USA Basketball Archived 2007-04-28 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "SECOND MEN'S GOODWILL GAMES - 1990". www.usab.com. June 10, 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
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