TACOMA, Wash. — Pacific Lutheran University alum Kelton Williams '21 is living the dream. A member of the Lute men's basketball team for four seasons, Williams has continued to stay in the game he loves, now working for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers.

The Renton, Washington native's path to the NBA was a winding one, taking him from Tacoma to Arizona, back to Washington before finally getting the call with the Clips.

But Williams start in Luteville almost didn't happen after a coaching change. Williams had originally committed to PLU when Steve Dickerson was the head coach. When Dickerson retired, Williams had second thoughts and re-opened his college search. 
 
"The funny thing was, my Dad called, and one funny thing about coaches is that they never answer their phone. So my Dad said, 'I'm just going to call PLU.' So my Dad calls PLU, and Coach Chad Murray answers the phone. My Dad talked to Coach Murray and he offered me another visit, and after that next one, I knew I was going to come. 
 
I chose PLU because it was close to home and I knew having a PLU degree was going to help me out for practically anything I really wanted to do."
 
It wasn't always glamorous. Williams and Murray's first season saw the Lutes win just four games. But Williams and the Lutes kept plugging away. 
 
By his senior year, the Lutes won 70 percent of their games in the COVID-19 shortened season. He appeared in 83 games over those four years, including starting every game as a sophomore through senior. 
 
"As far as my time at PLU, the four years I was there, I loved it all— the small classes size, the players, the professors, I wouldn't change anything. It felt like a home away from home."
 
Williams took off and played a graduate season in Arizona at NAIA Park University. Meanwhile back in Tacoma, the foundation that Williams helped lay was winning a share of the program's first Northwest Conference title since 1986. 
 
With his eligibility exhausted, Williams decided to get into coaching. Williams reached out to hundreds of colleges across the country before returning to his home state to be a graduate assistant at Division II Central Washington University. His stint with the Wildcats included winning the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament title. 
 
"Those two years at Central Washington were probably some of the best moments of my life, when it comes to athletics. It was a small community down in Ellensberg, but everybody was one big family and I loved it out there. Those two years I got to be hands on with everything as far as scouting, participating with the players in drills, helping coordinate practices, even doing some of the grunt work as far as team lodging, but it's part of the gig."

As he wrapped up his GA position, Williams still had a desire to make it to the NBA. Williams had a few mentors and put his name out there to as many people as possible. Finally his connections and connections to connections led to a phone call with Lawrence Frank, the LA Clippers President of Basketball Operations.

Williams started on the ground floor with the Clippers as an intern in team operations. 

"Within that internship I spent two months in the basketball equipment room. You talk about a group of guys that do it all, I think they're the most important guys in the organization, beside the players on the basketball court."

That was an intense two months in the summer learning the ins and outs of the organization. Williams' next step was being moved to his current role in player engagement and operations.

"I'm loving it so far."

Williams does a little bit of everything in his currently role with Clippers. From team expense reports, players requests, and staff requests, to being in charge of credentials on gamedays. Williams even gets to use his basketball skills on the court with some of the best players in the world.

"The really fun part is that I get to still be hands on with the players, no matter what, everyday I'm on the court. Either participating in drills, rebounding, passing, or being a practice dummy defender."

While currently working in operations, Williams ultimately is looking to become a general manager in the NBA, hoping to follow in the footsteps of several former Division III student-athletes including Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti (Emerson College), Boston Celtics President Brad Stevens (DePauw University) and head coaches Gregg Popovich (Pomona College), Jeff Van Gundy (Nazareth College), Tom Thibodeau (Salem State University), and Mike Budenholzer (Pomona).