UNC former 5-star gets an NBA coaching job

The University of North Carolina has produced plenty of basketball coaches after playing careers with the Tar Heels.

Jawad Williams is the latest.

The former 5-star recruit is now onto his second NBA coaching gig.

Previously with the Sacramento Kings, Williams has been hired as an assistant coach by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team announced on Wednesday.

It's a homecoming for Williams, too.

He was a star at St. Ed's just outside of Cleveland. They won a state championship his freshman year.

Eventually, Williams was first-team All-Ohio, the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state and a McDonald's All-American.

Williams took time to break through at UNC, but as a senior, he started on a national championship team.

That season, Williams averaged 13.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

Williams went into the NBA as an undrafted free agent. He played briefly in two seasons for the Cavaliers, then embarked on a long tenure of overseas hoops.

Williams' coaching career began in Japan before being hired by the Kings in September 2024. Kenny Atkinson now brings him aboard in Cleveland, where the Cavs will try to follow up a season with the best record in the Eastern Conference by putting together more sustained success in the postseason.

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