View source for Will Solomon

{{short description|American basketball player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{other people5|William Solomon (disambiguation){{!}}William Solomon}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name            = Will Solomon
| image           = Solomon115-cropd.JPG
| caption         = Solomon with [[Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.|Maccabi Tel Aviv]] in 2005
| height_ft       = 6 
| height_in       = 1
| weight_lbs      = 185
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1978|7|20}}
| birth_place     = [[Hartford, Connecticut]], U.S.
| high_school     = [[East Hartford High School|East Hartford]]<br>(Hartford, Connecticut)
| college         = [[Clemson Tigers men's basketball|Clemson]] (1998–2001)
| draft_year      = 2001
| draft_round     = 2
| draft_pick      = 33
| draft_team      = [[Vancouver Grizzlies]]
| career_start    = 2001
| career_end      = 2019
| career_number   = 5, 15, 1
| career_position = [[Point guard]] / [[shooting guard]]
| years1          = {{nbay|2001|full=y}}
| team1           = [[Memphis Grizzlies]] 
| years2          = 2002–2003
| team2           = [[Aris BC|Aris Thessaloniki]]
| years3          = 2003–2004
| team3           = [[Hapoel Jerusalem B.C.|Hapoel Jerusalem]]
| years4          = 2004–2005
| team4           = [[Anadolu Efes S.K.|Efes Pilsen]]
| years5          = 2005–2006
| team5           = [[Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.|Maccabi Tel Aviv]]
| years6          = 2006–2008
| team6           = [[Fenerbahçe Men's Basketball|Fenerbahçe]]
| years7          = {{nbay|2008|full=y}}
| team7           = [[Toronto Raptors]] 
| years8          = {{nbay|2008|end}}
| team8           = [[Sacramento Kings]] 
| years9          = 2009
| team9           = Fenerbahçe
| years10         = 2010–2011
| team10          = Hapoel Jerusalem
| years11         = 2011–2012
| team11          = [[Cherkaski Mavpy]]
| years12         = 2012–2013
| team12          = [[Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K.|Mersin BB]]
| years13         = 2013–2017
| team13          = [[Olympique Antibes|Shark Antibes]]
| years14         = 2018-2019
| team14          = [[AS Salé (basketball)|AS Salé]]
| highlights   = 
* [[ULEB Cup]] champion ([[2003–04 ULEB Cup|2004]])
* [[FIBA EuroCup Challenge|FIBA EuroCup]] champion (2003)
* 3× [[Turkish Basketball League|Turkish League]] champion (2005, 2007, 2008)
* [[Turkish Basketball League|Turkish League]] All-Star (2007)
* [[Turkish Basketball President's Cup|Turkish President's Cup]] winner (2008)
* [[Israeli Basketball Premier League|Israeli League]] champion (2006)
* [[Israeli Basketball State Cup|Israeli Cup]] winner (2006)
* [[LNB All-Star Game|French League All-Star]] ([[2015–16 LNB Pro A season|2016]])
* First-team [[List of All-Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball teams|All-ACC]] (2000)
* Second-team All-ACC (2001)
}}
'''William James Solomon''' (born July 20, 1978) is an American former professional [[basketball]] player. Standing at {{height|ft=6|in=1}}, he plays at the [[point guard]] and [[shooting guard]] positions. He played parts of three seasons in the NBA, and three seasons in the [[Israeli Basketball Premier League]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://basket.co.il/player.asp?PlayerId=9154&lang=en|title=ISRAEL BASKETBALL SUPER LEAGUE &#124; Israel Basketball &#124; 2010-11 Season &#124; Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem &#124; Will Solomon|website=basket.co.il}}</ref>

==Amateur career==
Solomon was first noticed at [[East Hartford High School]] in [[East Hartford, Connecticut]]. He held several records and is in several clubs in their schools basketball program, such as "1000 Career Points", "All State", "All Conference", and the only member of the  "NBA Draft" club. He went to [[Clemson Tigers men's basketball|Clemson]] where he continued his basketball career. He was named first-team [[List of All-Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball teams|All-Atlantic Coast Conference]] (ACC) as a junior, and made the second team as a senior.

==Professional career==
Solomon declared himself eligible for the [[2001 NBA draft]] after his junior year at [[Clemson University]]. He was selected by the [[Vancouver Grizzlies]] in the second round, with the 32nd overall pick. Solomon played for the Grizzlies in the [[2001-02 NBA season|2001–02 season]] and averaged 5.2 points, 1.5 assists and 1.1 rebounds over 62 games.

After only one year in the NBA, Solomon decided to move to Europe and signed a contract with the Greek team [[Aris BC|Aris Thessaloniki]] in 2003. That year he won the [[FIBA EuroCup Challenge]], 4th-tier European competition.

After a year in [[Greece]], Solomon moved to [[Israel]] and played for [[Hapoel Jerusalem B.C.|Hapoel Jerusalem]], with whom he won another European title, the [[ULEB Cup]], 2nd-tier European competition. In Israel, he was often nicknamed "The Fish" (Ha-dag, הדג), as in Hebrew his last name resembles "[[Salmon]]" much more than [[King Solomon]], which is pronounced "Shlomo."

For 2004–05, he moved to [[Turkey]] and was signed by [[Efes Pilsen S.K.|Efes Pilsen]]. He then played for the first time in his career in the [[EuroLeague]]. With the help of Solomon, [[Efes Pilsen S.K.|Efes Pilsen]] won the [[Turkish Basketball League|Turkish championship]] that year.

Solomon moved back to Israel the following season and was signed by [[Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.|Maccabi Tel Aviv]], who were the European champions the previous two seasons and were close to winning a third consecutive EuroLeague title before losing in the final. After this, he returned to [[Istanbul]] and joined [[Fenerbahçe Men's Basketball|Fenerbahçe]], that enjoyed a high budget and a [[EuroLeague]] spot after the [[Ülker|Ülker Food Group]] decided to close their own team and move their entire support of funds and players to [[Fenerbahçe Men's Basketball|Fenerbahçe Ülker]]'s basketball team. Nicknamed 'King Solomon'<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.milliyet.com.tr/yazarlar/|title=Yazarlar|website=Milliyet}}</ref> by the Fenerbahçe fans, he helped the team win two championships.

Solomon also played [[point guard]] for the [[Washington Wizards]] summer league team in [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] during the NBA's off-season in 2006.

On July 28, 2008, Solomon was signed by the [[Toronto Raptors]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nba.com/raptors/news/solomonrelease_072808.html|title=Raptors Sign Free Agent Will Solomon|website=Toronto Raptors}}</ref>

On February 19, 2009, Solomon was traded to the [[Sacramento Kings]] in a three-team deal that sent [[Patrick O'Bryant]] to the Raptors from the [[Boston Celtics]] and a conditional second round pick in 2014 to the Celtics.<ref name="Solomon to Kings">{{cite press release
|title = KINGS ACQUIRE WILL SOLOMON IN THREE-TEAM TRADE
|publisher = Sacramento Kings
|date = 2009-02-19
|url = http://www.nba.com/kings/news/press_release_021909_2.html
|access-date = 2009-02-20}}</ref> Shortly after being traded to the [[Sacramento Kings]], Will Solomon was waived.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/wire/_/section/nba/id/4055103|title=Kings waive G Will Solomon|website=ESPN.com}}</ref>

Solomon's final NBA game was played on April 3, 2009, in a 111 - 139 loss to the Phoenix Suns where Solomon recorded no stats in 3 minutes of playing time.

On April 9, 2009, the Turkish champions [[Fenerbahçe Men's Basketball|Fenerbahçe]] reached an agreement with him in order to bring him back to his former team,<ref name="Solomon to come back">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fenerbahce.org/anasayfa/anasayfa-abtest|title=Anasayfa - Fenerbahçe SK|website=www.fenerbahce.org}}</ref> but he was released from his contract on November 7, 2009.<ref name="Solomon to come back"/>

In August 2010, he returned to Israel and signed a one-year contract with pro club [[Hapoel Jerusalem B.C.|Hapoel Jerusalem]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/item/74737|title=Hapoel Jerusalem brings back Solomon|website=Welcome to 7DAYS EuroCup|date=27 June 2023 }}{{dead link|date=February 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In the summer of 2011, he signed a contract with the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] team [[Cherkaski Mavpy]].

In October 2012, he signed a contract with [[Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K.|Mersin BB]] of the [[Turkish Basketball League]] for the 2012–13 season.

In November 2013, he signed with the French team [[Olympique Antibes|Shark Antibes]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Will Solomon pigiste médical de Trevor Huffman |url=http://www.sharks-antibes.com/index.php/actus/news/transferts/item/427-will-solomon-pigiste-médical-de-trevor-huffman|publisher=sharks-antibes.com|language=fr|access-date=5 December 2013}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
{{Euroleague player statistics legend}}

===NBA===

====Regular season====
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2001}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2001–02 Memphis Grizzlies season|Memphis]]
| '''62''' || 4 || '''14.1''' || .341 || .284 || .671 || 1.1 || 1.5 || '''.6''' || '''.1''' || '''5.2'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2008}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2008–09 Toronto Raptors season|Toronto]]
| 39 || '''9''' || 13.9 || '''.436''' || .263 || '''.833''' || 1.1 || '''3.2''' || .5 || '''.1''' || 4.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2008}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2008–09 Sacramento Kings season|Sacramento]]
| 14 || 0 || 12.0 || .406 || '''.448''' || .500 || '''1.5''' || .7 || .5 || .0 || 5.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 115 || 13 || 13.8 || .378 || .298 || .692 || 1.1 || 2.0 || .5 || .1 || 5.1
{{S-end}}

===EuroLeague===
{{Euroleague player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2004–05 Euroleague|2004–05]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Anadolu Efes S.K.|Efes Pilsen]]
| 23 || '''23''' || 30.3 || .433 || .348 || .785 || 2.4 || 2.6 || '''2.0''' || '''.3''' || 14.5 || 14.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2005–06 Euroleague|2005–06]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.|Maccabi]]
| '''25''' || '''23''' || '''32.2''' || .464 || .386 || .798 || 2.4 || 3.0 || '''2.0''' || .2 || 15.0 || 13.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2006–07 Euroleague|2006–07]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Fenerbahçe Men's Basketball|Fenerbahçe]]
| 11 || 10 || 32.1 || .422 || '''.388''' || '''.889''' || 2.9 || 3.8 || 1.9 || '''.3''' || 13.6 || 11.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2007–08 Euroleague|2007–08]]
| style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe
| 21 || 21 || 31.1 || '''.466''' || .378 || .818 || '''3.1''' || '''3.9''' || 1.7 || .1 || '''17.9''' || '''18.0'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2009–10 Euroleague|2009–10]]
| style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe
| 2 || 2 || 26.3 || .333 || .250 || .800 || 1.0 || 1.5 || .5 || .0 || 9.0 || 3.5
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 82 || 79 || 31.2 || .448 || .370 || .806 || 2.6 || 3.2 || 1.9 || .2 || 15.3 || 14.4
{{S-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Willie Solomon}}
* {{basketball stats|bbr=s/solomwi01}}
* [http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Will-Solomon-5225/ Will Solomon] at draftexpress.com
* {{Eurobasket.com player|6614}}
* [http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=COS Will Solomon] at [[euroleague.net]]
* [https://www.tblstat.net/player/711 Will Solomon] at tblstat.net

{{navboxes|list=
{{2001 NBA draft}}
{{Aris B.C. 2002–03 EuroCup Challenge Winners}}
{{Hapoel Jerusalem 2003–04 ULEB Cup Champions}}
{{Euroleague Finals Top Scorer}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Will}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Canada]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in France]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Greece]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Israel]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Turkey]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Anadolu Efes S.K. players]]
[[Category:Aris B.C. players]]
[[Category:AS Salé (basketball) players]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Hartford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:BC Cherkaski Mavpy players]]
[[Category:Clemson Tigers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Fenerbahçe men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Greek Basket League players]]
[[Category:Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players]]
[[Category:Israeli Basketball Premier League players]]
[[Category:Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players]]
[[Category:Memphis Grizzlies players]]
[[Category:Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K. players]]
[[Category:Olympique Antibes basketball players]]
[[Category:People from East Hartford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Point guards]]
[[Category:Sacramento Kings players]]
[[Category:Shooting guards]]
[[Category:Toronto Raptors players]]
[[Category:Vancouver Grizzlies draft picks]]