Villanueva earned Big East All-Rookie Team honors and was a key reserve member of the 2004 NCAA National Championship team. As a sophomore at UConn, he averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds, leading the team in scoring and receiving team MVP and second-team All-Big East honors. Villanueva declared for the 2005 NBA draft following his sophomore season, thus forgoing his final two years of college eligibility. Professional career Toronto Raptors (2005–2006) Villanueva was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft. Despite being panned by critics as soon as his name was called in the draft, Villanueva responded with a solid rookie season. He averaged 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 81 games. He finished second among rookies in points and rebounds, and third in minutes and blocked shots. He also tallied 12 double-doubles and set the Raptors' rookie records for points (48) and rebounds (18) in a game. He also appeared in the Rookie Challenge and was named to the All-NBA Rookie first team. Milwaukee Bucks (2006–2009) On June 30, 2006, Villanueva was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for T. J. Ford. On April 9, 2008, Villanueva scored a season-high 38 points and made a career-high seven 3-point shots during a loss against his former team, the Raptors. In March 2009, Villanueva was reprimanded by Bucks coach Scott Skiles for posting a message on his Twitter account during halftime of the Bucks–Celtics game. Despite the mishap, Villanueva's 2008–09 season turned out to be a career-best season for him as he averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. On March 3, 2009, Villanueva scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds during a loss to the New Jersey Nets. Detroit Pistons (2009–2014) On July 8, 2009, Villanueva signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Detroit Pistons. Villanueva had scored a career high 16.7 points per game with Milwaukee the previous season. He was described by Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars as "a versatile big man who can play in the post and score from the perimeter as well." He and fellow Pistons signee Ben Gordon were described as "key pieces to our roster next season." In November 2010, Villanueva tweeted that Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, a known trash-talker, called him a "cancer patient" during a Celtics blowout win over Detroit. In response, Garnett insisted that "My comment