Billy Owens

Who is Billy Owens?

Billy Eugene Owens is an American former professional basketball player.

As a high school senior, Owens averaged 34 points per game, and helped lead Carlisle High School to four consecutive state titles. He was considered to be the second best prep player of 1988, behind Alonzo Mourning. Owens and Mourning were co-MVP's in the McDonalds' Game. Throughout his career, Owens drew some comparisons to Magic Johnson due to his great versatility, ball handling and passing skills for his height.

He played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.

As a 6'8" small forward/shooting guard from Syracuse University, he was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the 1991 NBA Draft. However, after Owens remained a holdout beyond the start of the regular season, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for high-scoring guard Mitch Richmond. The trade broke up the popular "Run TMC" trio of Mitch Richmond, Tim Hardaway, and Chris Mullin; Owens' additional height compared to Richmond was the size that coach and general manager Don Nelson believed would complete the team.