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Natalie Williams (Utah, 1999-2002)

WNBA ABL USA Basketball Overseas College High School Personal
Click above to jump to that part of Natalie Williams’ Bio

NO: 24
POS: Center
HGT: 6-2
DOB: November 30, 1970
SCHOOL: UCLA ‘94

*WHERE IS WILLIAMS NOW?

  • General manager of the Las Vegas Aces since April 2022.

(*As of February 2024)

WNBA TRANSACTIONS

May 4, 1999 Selected No. 3 by Utah in the 1999 WNBA Draft.
May 1, 2003 Traded to Indiana.
Feb. 11, 2005 Signed a contract extension with Indiana.
April 8, 2022 Named General Manager of the Las Vegas Aces.

 

WNBA REGULAR SEASON CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

  • 1999, 2000 and 2001 All-WNBA First Team
  • 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003 WNBA All-Star Games
  • After Utah won 8 games in 1998, the Starzz with Williams upped their wins to 15 in 1999, 18 in 2000, 19 in 2001 and 20 in 2002.
  • As a rookie in the WNBA, averaged 18.0 ppg and 9.2 rpg while making 51.9% of her field goal attempts.
  • Averaged 14.2 ppg and 9.9 rpg in 2001, in leading the Starzz to their first postseason berth.
  • Recorded five points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes in the 2000 WNBA All-Star Game and a game high 14 points, a game high tying eight rebounds and added three assists and one steal in the 1999 WNBA All-Star Game.
  • Competed with Utah Jazz’ Jeff Hornacek, and won, the 1999 NBA All-Star 2Ball contest.

WNBA REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

Year Tm G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB/AVG AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS/AVG
1999 UTA 28 26 954 180 347 .519 0 2 .000 144 191 .754 109 148 257/9.2 25 38 22 68 108 504/18.0
2000 UTA 29 29 1039 179 365 .490 3 5 .600 182 228 .798 132 204 336/11.6 51 35 18 79 124 543/18.7
2001 UTA 31 31 1064 171 349 .490 0 4 .000 97 133 .729 111 197 308/9.9 55 41 10 70 128 439/14.2
2002 UTA 31 31 1008 124 285 .435 5 12 .417 98 132 .742 105 150 255/8.2 38 38 16 72 122 351/11.3
2003 IND 34 34 1054 176 363 .485 0 1 .000 105 148 .709 109 146 255/7.5 46 43 21 70 138 457/13.4
2004 IND 34 34 956 133 293 .454 0 4 .000 83 119 .697 93 142 235/6.9 62 40 23 65 122 349/10.3
2005 IND 34 34 804 103 248 .415 0 0 .— 45 67 .672 74 112 186/5.5 31 35 12 56 105 251/7.4
Career 221 219 6879 1066 2250 .474 8 28 .286 754 1018 .741 733 1099 1832/8.3 308 270 122 480 847 2894/13.1


WNBA POSTSEASON CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

  • Advanced to postseason play three times, advancing as far as the 2002 Western Conference Semifinals with Utah and the Eastern Conference Finals with Indiana.
  • Averaged 14.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg and 1.4 bpg in 2002, in what was her most WNBA productive postseason performance.

WNBA POSTSEASON STATISTICS

 

Year Tm G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB/AVG AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS/AVG
2001 UTA 2 2 57 8 16 .500 0 0 5 6 .833 7 9 16/8.0 0 3 1 5 10 21/10.5
2002 UTA 5 5 186 25 47 .532 1 4 .250 19 28 .679 21 25 46/9.2 7 5 7 8 16 70/14.0
2005 IND 4 4 134 17 40 .425 0 1 .000 13 16 .813 13 17 30/7.5 6 5 2 1 14 47/11.8
Career 11 11 377 50 103 .485 1 5 .200 37 50 .740 41 51 92/8.4 13 13 10 14 40 138/12.5

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ABL CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

  • Assigned to the American Basketball League (ABL) Portland Power in 1996 as a premier player.
  • 1998 ABL Most Valuable Player
  • 1997 and 1998 All-ABL first team
  • 1997 and 1998 ABL All-Star
  • Prior to the ABL folding in December 1998, ranked among league leaders second for scoring (19.9 ppg.), rebounding (9.9 rpg.) and field goal percentage (58.0%), ninth (tie) for blocked shots (9) and 13th for steals (2.0 spg.).
  • Recorded 12 points and 12 rebounds in the 1998 ABL All-Star Game and 16 points and 15 rebounds in the 1997 game.
  • Finished the 1998 season as the ABL’s leading scorer (21.9 ppg.) and rebounder (11.6 rpg.), ranked second in field goal percentage (55.5%), fourth in blocks (1.1 bpg.) and tied for eighth in steals (2.0 spg.).
  • Led the ABL in 1997 in rebounding (12.5 rpg.) and finished tied for fifth in scoring (17.3 ppg.)
  • Recorded an ABL-high 22 double-doubles in 1996-97.
  • Holds the ABL single game rebounding record with 22 vs. Atlanta (1/9/97).

ABL REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

YEAR G/S FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT REB/AVG PTS/AVG AST BLK STL
1999 13 94- 162 .580 0- 0 .— 70- 95 .737 129/ 9.9 258/ 19.9 29 9 26
1998 44 351- 633 .555 1- 5 .200 261- 359 .727 508/ 11.6 964/ 21.9 84 50 89
1997 32 215- 412 .522 0- 0 .— 125- 186 .672 400/ 12.5 555/ 17.3 50 41 53
Totals 89 660-1207 .547 1- 5 .200 456- 640 .713 1037/ 11.7 1777/ 20.0 163 100 168

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USA BASKETBALL HIGHLIGHTS

  • Won gold medals at the 2000 Olympic Games, 1998 and 2002 World Championship, 1999 U.S. Olympic Cup, 1996 R. William Jones Cup.
  • Named the 1999 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.
  • Grabbed a USA World Cup competition record 86 rebounds in 1998 and her 9.6 rpg in 1998 stands at No. 3 among all-time USA World Cup athletes for rebounds averaged in a single competition.
  • Member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team that rolled to an 8-0 record and the gold medal; averaged 9.5 ppg and a USA second best 6.2 rpg in helping the 1999-2000 USA National Team to a 38-2 exhibition record leading up to the Olympic Games.
  • Helped the USA capture the 1999 USA Basketball International Invitational title.
  • Member of the gold medal winning 1998 USA World Cup Team which finished with a perfect 9-0 record and was named the 1998 USA Basketball Team of the Year, aided the U.S. to a 12-1 record in its 13-game pre-World Championship tour.
  • Started first three of five games before being injured in Australia in September 1998 as the USA National Team posted a 2-3 record against Australia.
  • Member of the gold medal winning 1996 USA R. William Jones Cup Team; attended trials less than a month after being cut from the ‘96 U.S. Olympic Volleyball Team.

USA BASKETBALL STATISTICS

TEAM G/S FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT REB/AVG PTS/AVG AST BLK STL
2002 WC 8/0 17- 26 .654 0- 0 .— 13- 19 .684 37/ 4.6 47/ 5.9 1 3 7
2002 WCP 4/ 0 3- 11 .273 0- 0 .— 3- 4 .750 20/ 5.0 9/ 2.3 1 1 3
2000 OLY 8/ 0 22- 39 .564 0- 0 .— 17- 25 .680 47/ 5.9 61/ 7.6 8 0 6
99-00 WNT 40/24 150- 265 .566 0- 0 .— 78- 113 .822 249/ 6.2 378/ 9.5 39 5 36
1998 WC 9/ 9 47- 86 .547 0- 2 .000 17- 23 .739 86/ 9.6 111/ 12.3 9 7 9
1998 WCP 13/ 5 76- 106 .717 0- 0 .— 33- 42 .786 99/ 7.6 185/ 14.2 12 10 27
1998 WNT 3/ 3 8- 25 .320 0- 0 .— 4- 8 .500 15/ 5.0 20/ 6.7 0 1 1
1996 JC 9/ 1 34- 66 .515 0- 0 .— 14- 18 .778 63/ 7.0 82/ 9.1 4 3 12
Totals 94/42 357- 624 .572 0- 2 .000 179- 252 .710 616/ 6.6 893/ 9.5 74 30 101

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OVERSEAS CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

  • Competed professionally in Russia for both Spartak Moscow Region and UMMC Ekaterinburg in both the EuroCup and EuroLeague competitions.
  • Played for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the 2003 FIBA Women’s World Cup, a pro club competition that also featured a WNBA Select Team and helped Ekat to a third-place finish; averaged 13.8 ppg and 8.6 rpg over five games in Samara, Russia.
  • Played for Spartak in the 2005-06 EuroCup and averaged 14.1 ppg and 6.4 rpg in leading Spartak to the 2006 EuroCup championship.
  • Averaged 7.4 ppg and 5.0 rpg in 2003-04 for UMMC Ekaterinburg in EuroLeague games.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS

  • During her four seasons (1991-94), averaged a double-double with 20.4 ppg. and 12.8 rpg., while UCLA compiled a 64-49 record (56.6%) and advanced to the 1992 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen.
  • Led UCLA to NCAA volleyball titles in 1991 and 1990.
  • Named the Pac-10 Female Athlete of the Decade (1987-96) and to the Pac-10 All-Decade Team, encompassing all conference sports.
  • Was selected (2/21/98) as one of UCLA’s 15 greatest women’s basketball players, joining the likes of Denise Curry, Ann Meyersand Jackie Joyner.
  • 1994 and 1993 Naismith Player of the Year finalist.
  • Named 1994 WBCA All-American first team, 1994 and 1993 All-American first team by Basketball Times and U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
  • Named 1994 Pac-10 Player of the Year and 1994, 1993 and 1992 All-Pac-10 first team.
  • Named 1991 Pac-10 All-Freshman Team.
  • Named Pac-10 Player of the Week 16 times in her career, eight for basketball and eight for volleyball.
  • Named two-time National Player of the Year and four-year All-American in volleyball at UCLA.
  • Ranked second among all-time UCLA rebounders (1,137), fourth for points (1,813), third for scoring average (20.4 ppg.) and first for rebounding average (12.8 rpg.) at the end of her four-year collegiate career.

COLLEGE STATISTICS

YEAR G/S FGM-FGA PCT FTM-FTA PCT REB/AVG PTS/AVG AST STL BLK
1994 24/24 243- 426 .570 75-145 .517 314/13.1 561/23.4 31 73 23
1993 23/23 201- 425 .473 86-115 .748 310/13.5 488/21.2 107 64 8
1992 23/23 197- 352 .560 101-160 .631 318/13.8 495/21.5 29 65 29
1991 19/16 104- 208 .500  61-  91 .670 195/10.3 269/14.2 14 31 12
Totals 89/86 745-1411 .528  323-511 .632  1137/12.8  1813/20.4  101  226 97

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HIGH SCHOOL

  • Attended and played for Taylorsville High School in Utah.

PERSONAL

  • Named Utah’s Female Athlete of the 20th Century, and became the state’s first female Olympic gold medalist in 2000.
  • Inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
  • As a native of Utah, Williams was involved in the Salt Lake Winter Games. She was a part of the USA delegation that flew to Greece to help bring the Olympic flame to U.S. soil, welcomed athletes to the 2002 Olympic Village as mayor for a day, and took part in the 2002 Winter Olympics Torch Relay on Saturday, Feb. 8, prior to the opening ceremony.
  • Finalist for the 1996 USA Olympic Volleyball Team.
  • Member of the 1993 and 1991 USA World University Games volleyball team that won the bronze and silver medals, respectively; carried the torch in the 1993 World University Games opening ceremony in front of 85,000 people in Buffalo, New York.
  • Member of the U.S. National Volleyball Team that won the silver in the 1993 NORECECA (America’s zone) championship.
  • Daughter of Robyn Gray and Nate Williams, who played for nine seasons in the NBA.
  • If she didn’t play basketball, Williams would have liked to become a veterinarian because of her love of animals (she once adopted a “pet” spider she named Charlotte while the National Team was in Slovakia in 1998).

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