A former NBA player for Varese basketball
Official: Willie Cauley-Stein is a new Varese Basketball player
After finalizing the arrival of Gabe Brown, Varese Basketball places another important incoming blow in the longs department. The red-and-whites have announced the purchase of Willie Cauley-Stein, an American center who boasts more than 400 NBA appearances.
“It is with extreme enthusiasm that Pallacanestro Varese announces that it has reached an agreement with Willie Cauley-Stein, who from next season will, therefore, be a new Red and White player. U.S. center class ’93 of 213 centimeters, Cauley-Stein is at his first experience in Europe after more than 420 games played in the NBA with the jerseys of Sacramento, Golden State, Dallas and Philadelphia,” this is the statement issued by the white and red club.
Scouting resbonsible Matteo Jemoli also spoke on the new arrival: “We are extremely happy with the signing of Willie. A player who has walked on important stages and whose talent, athleticism and iron protection will be fundamental in the economy of our team. His qualities combine very well with our way of playing and we look forward to seeing him in Varese together with his family.”
Career
Born and raised in Spearville, a small town in Kansas of not even a thousand people, Willie Cauley-Stein spent his youth practicing his two greatest passions: football and, indeed, basketball. Despite his excellent aptitudes for the former, Willie chooses the latter, immediately becoming a point of reference not only on offense, but also and especially on defense, for the Wildcats of the University of Kentucky, with whom he improves his figures from season to season (9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals and almost 2 stoppages per game in his junior year). Excellent numbers that prompted Sacramento to select him with the sixth overall pick in the 2015 Draft; with the Kings jersey he plays almost 300 games in four seasons, putting up career highs in points (29 in the win against Denver on February 23, 2017), stolen balls (7 in the game against the Nuggets on January 6, 2018) and rebounds (17 in the win against New Orleans dated December 23, 2018). In 2019-2020 he signed for Golden State (41 games at 8 points and 6.2 rebounds), but finished the season in Dallas, which also confirmed him for the next two seasons. After a very brief experience with Philadelphia, on October 9, 2022 he signs with the Houston Rockets, who “turn him over” to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the development team of the Texas franchise that plays in the G League, with whom he plays the entire season, finishing at an average of 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds.
