FAYETTEVILLE — Former Arkansas men's basketball standout Corliss Williamson has joined the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff, according to NBA reporter Marc Stein.
Williamson spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Williamson joins a new-look Spurs bench, which enters its first season under coach Mitchell Johnson. He took over for Gregg Popovich, who moved to the front office after he suffered a stroke.
Popovich coached the Spurs for the previous 29 years. Johnson served as interim coach in his absence.
Williamson spent 12 years playing in the NBA from 1995-2007. While with the Detroit Pistons, Williamson won the 2022 Sixth Man of the Year Award and the NBA championship in 2004.
He was a star on Razorbacks' 1994 national championship team and was named the most outstanding player of the Final Four that season.
Williamson scored 23 points in Arkansas' 76-72 victory over Duke in the title game, and he helped the Razorbacks to a national runner-up finish the next year. He averaged 19 points per game over his three-year stint in Fayetteville.
Williamson was selected with the No. 13 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings and played for three other teams in his career — the Toronto Raptors, Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers.
He began his coaching career in 2007 as an assistant with Arkansas Baptist before taking over as head coach in 2009. Williamson then coached Central Arkansas for three years before moving into the NBA ranks.
Since becoming an NBA assistant coach, Williamson has worked with the Kings, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and the Timberwolves.