Player profile · NJN / NYK / POR

Buck Williams

Buck Williams stats, teams and career impact

#531 all-timeCareer averages · 12.8 PPG · 10.0 RPG · 1.3 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Position: Power forward
Final NBA team: New York Knicks
Height / weight: 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) · 215 lb (98 kg)
Born: March 8, 1960 (66 yrs old)
College: Maryland
NBA seasons: 17 seasons · 1981–82 to 1997–98

Career or season view

Career summaryBuck Williams was a power forward who played 17 NBA seasons, from 1981–82 through 1997–98.

Career PPG: 12.8
Career RPG: 10.0
Career APG: 1.3; #34 in 1982–83; #531 all-time

Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Career overview

Why Buck Williams ranks #531 all time

Buck Williams ranks #531 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #48.7. His full-career value ranks #200, so longevity is a major reason he lands this high.

Peak#34 in 1982–83

Best league finish

Sustained excellence17 ranked seasons

450+ minutes required per season

Career breadth17 seasons

1,307 games · Career Value Rank #200

NBA honors3× All-Star · All-NBA · 4× All-Defense · ROYContext only; honors are not model inputs.

Head to head

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Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources

Full team history

Teams: New Jersey Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, and New York Knicks
Greatest Nets →Greatest Knicks →Greatest Trail Blazers →

Career shooting

NBA regular season

Field goal: 54.9%FG%
Three-point: 16.7%3P%
Free throw: 66.4%FT%

1,307 career games · 42,464 minutes

Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.

Traditional box score

Buck Williams stats by season

Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.

Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.

Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →

				pts/100 · higher is better
1997–98	4.9	4.5	0.5	-1.77	NYK	41	6	18.0	50.3%	—	73.2%	#223	3.2
1996–97	6.3	5.4	0.7	-1.16	NYK	74	4	20.2	53.7%	0.0%	64.2%	#176	23.8
1995–96	7.3	5.8	0.6	-1.53	POR	70	10	23.9	50.0%	66.7%	66.8%	#201	15.1
1994–95	9.2	8.2	1.0	-0.37	POR	82	82	29.5	51.2%	50.0%	67.3%	#134	77.0
1993–94	9.7	10.4	1.0	-0.19	POR	81	81	32.5	55.5%	0.0%	67.9%	#125	98.0
1992–93	8.3	8.4	0.9	-0.59	POR	82	82	30.5	51.1%	0.0%	64.5%	#147	72.7
1991–92	11.3	8.8	1.4	+0.61	POR	80	80	31.5	60.4%	0.0%	75.4%	#91	135.4
1990–91	11.7	9.4	1.2	-0.09	POR	80	80	32.3	60.2%	—	70.5%	#117	103.0
1989–90	13.6	9.8	1.4	-0.13	POR	82	82	34.2	54.8%	0.0%	70.6%	#115	111.4
1988–89	13.0	9.4	1.1	-0.61	NJN	74	72	33.1	53.1%	0.0%	66.6%	#127	71.1
1987–88	18.3	11.9	1.6	+0.89	NJN	70	70	37.7	56.0%	100.0%	66.8%	#61	156.6
1986–87	18.0	12.5	1.6	+0.27	NJN	82	82	36.3	55.7%	0.0%	73.1%	#85	143.1
1985–86	15.9	12.0	1.6	-0.32	NJN	82	82	37.4	52.3%	0.0%	67.6%	#121	111.1
1984–85	18.2	12.3	2.0	+0.64	NJN	82	82	38.8	53.0%	25.0%	62.5%	#67	177.2
1983–84	15.7	12.3	1.6	+0.17	NJN	81	81	37.1	53.5%	0.0%	57.0%	#88	139.9
1982–83	17.0	12.5	1.5	+2.11	NJN	82	82	36.1	58.8%	0.0%	62.0%	#34	263.6
1981–82	15.5	12.3	1.3	+1.24	NJN	82	82	34.5	58.2%	0.0%	62.4%	#51	196.5
Career	12.8	10.0	1.3	—	NJN/NYK/POR	1307	—	32.5	54.9%	16.7%	66.4%	—	—

Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.

What these measures mean

Box impact: Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
Impact Rate: A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
Impact estimate: The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
Impact Rate rank: The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
Value contribution / Season Value: Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
Career Impact Rank: An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.

Career Impact Rank#531

58.8 composite · lower is better

Best 5#558

59.6 average league finish

Career Value Rank#200

1,899 total value

Impact Rate: 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
Box impact: Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.

Career standing

How Buck Williams ranks all time

These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.

Number-one seasons0

Best in the league

Top-five seasons0

Elite finishes

Top-ten seasons0

Upper-tier finishes

Top-10 Impact Margin0.0

Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons

Career Composite Score58.8

Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.

Best 3 effective weight: 74%
Missing-season finish: 289.0
Qualified seasons: 17
All-time rank: #531

Strongest seasons

Every season

Buck Williams advanced stats by season

Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.

More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage

					pts/100 · higher is better	0–100 · higher is better
1997–98Historical Defense Estimate	NYK	37	41	738	-1.77	30.0	#223	3.2	30th	Standard
1996–97Historical Defense Estimate	NYK	36	74	1,496	-1.16	44.6	#176	23.8	47th	Broad
1995–96Historical Defense Estimate	POR	35	70	1,672	-1.53	38.5	#201	15.1	42nd	Broad
1994–95Historical Defense Estimate	POR	34	82	2,422	-0.37	57.0	#134	77.0	67th	Broad
1993–94Historical Defense Estimate	POR	33	81	2,636	-0.19	57.4	#125	98.0	70th	Broad
1992–93Historical Defense Estimate	POR	32	82	2,498	-0.59	50.5	#147	72.7	62nd	Broad
1991–92Historical Defense Estimate	POR	31	80	2,519	+0.61	68.9	#91	135.4	77th	Broad
1990–91Historical Defense Estimate	POR	30	80	2,582	-0.09	60.1	#117	103.0	69th	Broad
1989–90Historical Defense Estimate	POR	29	82	2,801	-0.13	60.3	#115	111.4	72nd	Broad
1988–89Historical Defense Estimate	NJN	28	74	2,446	-0.61	52.1	#127	71.1	58th	Broad
1987–88Historical Defense Estimate	NJN	27	70	2,637	+0.89	76.0	#61	156.6	82nd	Broad
1986–87Historical Defense Estimate	NJN	26	82	2,976	+0.27	67.2	#85	143.1	78th	Broad
1985–86Historical Defense Estimate	NJN	25	82	3,070	-0.32	52.8	#121	111.1	70th	Broad
1984–85Historical Defense Estimate	NJN	24	82	3,182	+0.64	73.9	#67	177.2	84th	Broad
1983–84Historical Defense Estimate	NJN	23	81	3,003	+0.17	64.9	#88	139.9	78th	Broad
1982–83Historical Defense Estimate	NJN	22	82	2,961	+2.11	87.0	#34	263.6	92nd	Broad
1981–82Historical Defense Estimate	NJN	21	82	2,825	+1.24	80.3	#51	196.5	88th	Broad

Career movement

Buck Williams's box impact by season

Peak box impact +2.11 points per 100 possessions in 1982–83 · 17 seasons · 42,464 minutes

Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.

Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutes

Player-specific impact scaleWorkload

Career comparison

Compare the shape, not the calendar

Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.

Compare with a similar careerOpen full comparison →

Buck WilliamsOtis Thorpe

Box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better · dashed marker means the player did not play

Buck Williams and Otis Thorpe era-centered impact values by NBA season number
NBA season	Buck Williams	Otis Thorpe
1	1.2	-1.2
2	2.1	-0.8
3	0.2	1.2
4	0.6	1.6
5	-0.3	0.4
6	0.3	1.0
7	0.9	1.0
8	-0.6	0.8
9	-0.1	-0.7
10	-0.1	0.4
11	0.6	-0.4
12	-0.6	-1.1
13	-0.2	-1.6
14	-0.4	-1.3
15	-1.5	-0.3
16	-1.2	-3.8
17	-1.8	-4.0

NBA season number

Similar career arcs

Players with careers similar to Buck Williams

The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.

PF · All-Time Career #561

Otis Thorpe

career similarity score

93/100 closest-season score · 1982–83 ↔ 1986–87 PF · All-Time Career #643

A.C. Green

career similarity score

89/100 closest-season score · 1982–83 ↔ 1988–89 PF · All-Time Career #696

Zach Randolph

career similarity score

89/100 closest-season score · 1982–83 ↔ 2003–04

How to read this page

Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →