Earl Williams (basketball player)

Earl "the Twirl" Williams (born March 24, 1951) is an American-Israeli former professional basketball player and a teacher of children with special needs.

Williams played high school basketball while attending Woodrow Wilson High School in Levittown, Pennsylvania. He played college basketball at Winston-Salem State University, with the Winston-Salem State Rams.

USA

In the 1974 NBA draft, Williams was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 3rd round, with the 13th pick (49th overall). He made his NBA debut on October 17, 1974, with Phoenix. During the next four years, he played for other NBA teams as well: the Detroit Pistons, the New York Nets, and the Boston Celtics. On September 30, 1975, he was traded by the Suns to the Detroit Pistons, for a 1976 2nd round draft pick (Earl Tatum).

Sweden

In the 1977-78 season, Williams played for the Swedish League team Alvik. Alvik came in 2nd in the league that year.

Israel

Williams later played professionally in the Israeli League. He starred for a portion of the time with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Holon, and he also played with Maccabi Ramat Gan. In 1990, at age 39, he was the oldest player in the Israeli League.

Italy

Williams played two seasons for Italian teams as well: Fortitudo Bologna in 1984–1985, and Libertas Brindisi in 1988–1989.

In 1982, Williams converted to Judaism. Williams also became a naturalized Israeli citizen, becoming a dual US-Israeli citizen.