Shelden DeMar Williams (born October 21, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Landlord",[1] he played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, and later played in the NBA for parts of seven seasons.
Williams earned the 2005 and 2006 NABC Defensive Player of the Year Awards while at Duke, becoming only the fifth player in history to earn the award two consecutive years. He holds Duke's career blocks record, single-season blocks record, and career rebounding record.
Oklahoma Player of the Year in 2001 by the Daily Oklahoman
Oklahoma Defensive Player of the Year: 2000, 2001
Ranked number 49 in the nation among all players by ESPN.com following his senior season (averaging 20 points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists as a senior)
Rated the nation's fifth-best prep player by Future Stars and BlueChipHoops.com and sixth by College Basketball News entering the 2001–02 season
The Sporting News listed Williams as the nation's sixth-best prep player entering 2001–02
Rated the nation's number one forward by Basketball News and Prepstar
Three-time all-state, all-district and all-city selection (1999–2001)
Williams became only the third Duke basketball player[2] to record a triple-double when Duke defeated Maryland on January 11, 2006, recording 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.[3]
On January 28, 2007, Duke retired Williams' No. 23 jersey.[4]
Williams is the third player in ACC history to have 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 350 blocks and 150 steals (joining Tim Duncan and Ralph Sampson). His 1,217 rebounds and 1,859 career points rank him seventh in ACC history and sixteenth in Duke history, respectively.
Records
As of graduating from Duke University, Williams held records for:
John R. Wooden National Player of the Year Finalist: 2006
NBA Rookie of the Month: April 2007
Professional career
Atlanta Hawks (2006–2008)
Williams was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft. On July 10, 2006, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Hawks.[5] On November 1, Williams made his NBA debut, recording three rebounds and one block in a 75–88 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.[6] On April 16, 2007, he logged a season-high 17 rebounds, alongside 16 points, in a 96–102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.[7] A day later, he scored a season-high 21 points, alongside ten rebounds, in a 118–102 win over the Indiana Pacers.[8] Williams was named the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in April.[9]
On November 13, 2008, Williams married former University of TennesseeLady Vols and Las Vegas Aces basketball star Candace Parker. They have a daughter named Lailaa. In November 2016, Williams filed for divorce claiming irreconcilable differences. They had been living separately for 3 months prior to the divorce. They share joint custody with neither paying child support to the other.
Shelden started the Shelden Williams Foundation in 2019. The Shelden Williams Foundation is dedicated to empowering student athletes and their families by delivering and supporting initiatives that promote emotional and physical health through sports, education, and community involvement.