Biography of Derek Willis
From the EuroCup to the EuroLeague via the Basketball Champions League. From the NCAA to the LBA Serie A via the Basketball Bundesliga. From the United States to Turkey via Spain… Derek Willis certainly has no shortage of experience! And he intends to bring it all to Paris Basketball.
Born on June 21, 1995, in Louisville, Kentucky, nothing predestined Derek Willis to become a professional player. And for good reason: he spent much of his childhood in the middle of Wyoming, on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
But his height and build inevitably attracted attention. The Kentucky Wildcats came knocking, and Derek Willis answered the call. There, he won the SEC Tournament three times, but more importantly, he reached March Madness in 2015. At the pinnacle of college basketball, the power forward was forced to skip the draft in order to try to join the NBA.
Although he ultimately ended up joining the Detroit Pistons, the Louisville native spent the 2017-2018 season in the G-League. With averages of 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, he shone for the Grand Rapids Drive. However, Derek Willis felt that the tide was turning for him in the United States. This prompted him to cross the Atlantic and head to Germany. The center didn’t need much time to adapt. At BG Göttingen, he maintained a rating of 13.2 throughout his first and only season.
This time, Derek Willis is staying in the same country but changing cities to join the more ambitious Ratiopharm Ulm. The Louisville native is discovering the playoffs with a quarterfinal appearance and playing his first European games in the EuroCup. All with the same determination to win.
He then joined Italian club Brindisi, where he averaged a double-double during the playoffs. This was followed by a season in Spain with Joventut Badalona, where his 43% shooting from the field helped his team reach the Liga Endesa semifinals. He returned to Venice, averaging 13 points in the EuroCup. He finally landed at Anadolu Efes Istanbul. In Turkey, the center took his first steps in the EuroLeague. But after a less prolific second season in Turkey, Derek Willis signed with Paris Basketball. A new challenge awaits him in the capital, with his sights set on his first trophy on the Old Continent.
What role will Derek Willis play for Paris Basketball in the 2025-2026 season
While certain aspects of Paris’s game will change with the arrival of Francesco Tabellini, the foundation remains the same. It’s a style of play that perfectly suits Willis’s profile. The density offered by Derek Willis is a major asset in responding to the challenge posed by the best teams in the EuroLeague.
Player’s style of play in 3 words
REBOND SCORER PHYSICAL
