EL SEGUNDO – The Los Angeles Lakers have signed reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.

“I am pleased to welcome Lou to the Laker family,” said Kupchak. “We look forward to his contributions both on-court in bolstering our guard rotation, and also for the veteran leadership he can provide to our young players in the locker room.”

Last season with Toronto, Williams averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game in 80 appearances off the bench, leading to his selection at year’s end as the NBA’s most valuable player in a reserve role. The 10-year veteran also led the Raptors in free throw percentage (86.1%) and made a career-high 152 three-pointers. On March 4, Williams set a Raptors record for points in a quarter with 21 in the fourth period against Cleveland.

Selected by Philadelphia with the 45th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft out of South Gwinnett High School (GA), the 28-year-old spent his first seven NBA seasons with the 76ers before signing with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2012 offseason, and was traded to the Raptors last summer. For his career, Williams holds averages of 11.9 points, 2.9 assists, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.9 steals in 22.9 minutes per game over 634 contests.