Billy Knight (basketball, born 1979)

For the NBA basketball player and executive who attended Pittsburgh, see Billy Knight.

William Price Knight (January 20, 1979 – July 8, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. His last professional stops were in Japan with Hamamatsu, Osaka, Hyogo and Yamagata.^[1]

Billy Knight

Personal information
Born	(1979-01-20)January 20, 1979 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	July 8, 2018(2018-07-08) (aged 39) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	Westchester (Los Angeles, California)
College	UCLA (1997–2002）
NBA draft	2002: undrafted
Playing career	2002–2016
Position	Shooting guard
Career history
2002–2003	Akropol BBK
2003–2004	Entente Orléanaise 45
2004–2005	Apollon Limassol
2005	JA Vichy
2005	Trotamundos B.B.C.
2005–2006	Al Rayyan
2006	Hollywood Fame
2006–2007	Santa Barbara Breakers
2007–2008	ESSM Le Portel
?	Los Angeles Lightning
2008–2009	Boulazac Basket Dordogne
2009–2010	Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix
2010–2011	Osaka Evessa
2011–2015	Hyogo Storks
2015–2016	Yamagata Wyverns
Career highlights
bj league champion (2010) 2× bj league All-Star JBL2 champion (2013) JBL2 Scoring leader (2012) JBL2 Block leader (2012) 2x JBL2 Best Five (2012, 2013)

Early life

He attended high school at Westchester High in Los Angeles. As a sophomore, he was a reserve at center when Knight's father decided that his son's chances for an athletic scholarship to college rested on his jump-shooting skills. Knight was already tall, so his father set up dummies in their backyard court that he would be forced to shoot over.^[2] As a senior, he had developed into one of the top jump shooters nationally and committed to play college basketball for the UCLA Bruins.^[3]

Professional career

Knight helped the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix to their first bj league title in 2009–2010, when he was the league's third-leading scorer, averaging 19.6 points per game. He and teammate Wendell White formed a duo dubbed the "White-Knight Show".^[4] In 2012–13, he helped lead the Hyogo Storks to their first Japan Basketball League (JBL2) championship.^[5]

Criminal allegations and death

On June 13, 2018, Knight was arrested on six counts of molestation charges, including two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.^[6][7] He died by suicide through multiple blunt force injuries on July 8 after jumping from a building in Phoenix, Arizona,^[8][9] shortly after posting a video to YouTube talking about his mental illness and encouraging others to seek help.^[9][10]

Career statistics

Professional

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

†	Denotes seasons in which Knight won a league championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	Orléans	9		29.3	.450	.447	.722	5.3	2.0	1.3	0.0	17.7
2003–04	Akropol	30		30.1	.539	.500	.836	7.4	2.1	1.4	0.1	28.9
2005–06	Vichy	12		30.4	.401	.275	.773	5.6	1.5	1.9	0.3	15.7
2007–08	Portel	31		26.6	.499	.369	.764	3.0	1.7	2.3	0.1	16.0
2008–09	Boulazac	19		26.8	.534	.439	.775	4.3	1.8	1.2	0.0	14.9
2009–10†	Hamamatsu	47	29	26.2	.413	.395	.795	5.4	2.0	1.3	0.3	19.6
2010–11	Osaka	50	37	25.0	.457	.357	.797	7.3	2.0	1.3	0.3	17.1
2013–14	Hyogo	54	53	26.6	.385	.367	.843	6.8	1.1	1.4	0.3	17.6
2014–15	Hyogo	54		16.9	.420	.284	.836	3.6	0.7	0.9	0.2	13.1
2015–16	Yamagata	36	9	21.9	.470	.392	.847	8.9	1.2	1.1	0.6	21.1

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2010–11	Osaka	4		26.5	.421	.000	.783	8.0	3.0	1.3	0.0	16.5

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1997–98	UCLA	24			.444	.387	.727	0.9	0.1	0.2	0.0	2.8
1998–99	UCLA
1999-00	UCLA	28			.453	.397	.656	2.1	0.7	0.5	0.0	5.4
2000–01	UCLA	32	18		.460	.421	.732	1.9	0.6	0.6	0.1	7.9
2001–02	UCLA	33	33	29.0	.458	.397	.826	3.5	1.4	1.2	0.1	14.1
Career		117	51	29.0	.456	.403	.774	2.2	0.7	0.7	0.1	8.0