On Monday, former University at Buffalo men’s basketball forward Jeenathan Williams’ contract with the Houston Rockets was converted to a two-way deal. Williams will now play for both the Houston Rockets and its G-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. CBS Sports announced the move.
Williams had signed a one-year deal in August which has now been converted to a two-way contract, allowing Houston to move him between the G-League and NBA.
Williams spent four seasons with the UB Bulls, acquiring Second and First Team All-MAC in 2021 and 2022 respectively. In the 2021-2022 season, he led the Bulls in scoring with 19.1 points per game.
After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, Williams joined the Utah Jazz Summer League team and was later signed to a Exhibit 10 deal. This non-guaranteed contract didn’t last long and he later signed with Utah’s G-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.
Later in 2023, Jeenathan would return to the NBA, signing with the Portland Trailblazers and even starting in some late-season games. Williams became the first UB player to play in an NBA regular season game in 40 years. Over five games and four starts with Portland, Williams averaged 10.6 points per game, as well as three rebounds and two assists.
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Evan Hilbert is an assistant sports editor at The Spectrum. He also is a three-season student-athlete with UB’s DI cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track team. He’s a fan of the Milwaukee Bucks, Newcastle United F.C., and the Buffalo Bills.
