Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 10:40 am  |  115 responses

For Old Time’s Sake: Jason Williams (white chocolate)

From J-Stock to J-Will, why not? With the exception of maybe Pistol Pete, RIP, what white boy has better handles than Jason Williams? Steve Nash, Stockton? I don’t think so but it’s certainly up for debate. Picked 7th in the 1998 NBA Draft, Williams played a crucial role for a Sacramento Kings team that had plenty of talent in C-Webb, Peja, and an old but still productive Vlade Divac. J-Will helped lead the Kings to a playoff birth and made Sactown a regular on the highlight reels. A few interesting facts about J-Will… 1) He played high school hoops with Randy Moss. 2) He holds the record for most assists in a game at UF (17). 3) Williams’ #55 jersey was among the top 5 sellers in his rookie season. 4) He won a championship in 2006 with Miami.

-Schneezy

For more old school videos, check out SLAMtv in the Media section.

Have an old school video you want to see in FOTS? Send the video link to slamteam@harris-pub.com

issue-35-jason-williams


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  • RIGGS

    He should go back to that style

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    I’m not sure if anyone ever thought he was going to be a HOF-type guard.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    He was drafted like number eight, as a junior, from Florida before they were anything close to a basketball power.. His game was ridiculous. He had hops, foot speed, an impeccable handle, court vision and a decent jumper.
    What was stopping him from becoming great?

  • Overtime

    There have never been two players as easily mistakble for one another on the court as Jason Williams and Mike Bibby

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    He’s averaged 11, 6 & 2 for his career. By comparison, J Kidd has averaged 13, 9 & 6. One is a HOF’er…one is a Champion. Which one is the better honor to have? I’m not sure. HOF’er is an all-time honor, but a there’s a ton of HOF’ers without rings that I’m sure would love to have that last piece of history to their careers.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    16, 6 & 3. Those career numbers belong to his eventual replacement in Sacramento, Mike Bibby. I’d rather ride with J-Will.

  • rob stewart

    I loved his bowling ball passes and I used the KINGS all day on Playstation because of J

  • Robb

    1:37 bye bye Payton. Sick.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Eboy
    I’d rather be a Hall of Famer, to be honest.
    Then you can sit at the table with the big dogs and talk shop like an equal. If Unseld, Cowens and Duncan are sitting around talking about ball, and their careers, who is going to feel more out of place joining the convo: Malone, Barkley or Robert Horry?
    I’d rather be a big dog on my own merits than ride coattails to a ring.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Awww, ah well. Never been a fan of Whit Eboy. I’ll just have to wait for the next FOTS… Keep doing your thing though Schneezy/SLAM.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    @ Eboy: You’re right, a tonne of Hall of Famers would sacrifice a lot to get that final piece of hardware… But they definitely wouldn’t give up their Hall of Fame status (and respect).

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    I’ll remember these comments if Lebron goes the rest of his career and doesn’t win a ring.

  • Ronald

    Watching this video makes me sick of Rondo’s fake behind the back pass he does every game. Why do people keep falling for it?

  • Shadojoker

    watching those White Chocolate highlights reminds me of how much he OWNED Sportscenter on the DAILY..it was either Vince Carter dunks or J-Will’s passing,dribbling,or whatever.. those were some good years..glad he finally got a ring..

  • teebee!!

    to this day i still don’t know how he did that elbow pass in the rookie game.

  • larrylegend

    he and vince r the reasons i enjoyed the lockout season very much. jwill had pistol-like work ethics with his handels…looks flashy and wild, but he put in work.

  • unrel

    ^it ain’t hard.. toss it behind your back.. hit with elbow to the trailer..

  • http://www.phonetobuy.com LeoneL

    @Allenp, how is smoking too much weed bad for him? Or anyone else for that matter? Nah, just kiddin’.

  • onlyclipsfanonslam

    @allenp why the hate? His game is part of the reason why there are so many talented young PG’s in the game today. I’m sure Curry and Young Buck wanted to learn that wrap around pass. Nothing wrong with making the game beautiful and creative. You are pointing out his issues… so what a guy in his 20′s with all the money in the world isn’t that motivated? He isn’t the first and he won’t be the last, at least he changed his game to suit an NBA role. Maybe the best part about J-Will is how he grew up as a person? I wish there are more J-Will’s out there in the NBA, it makes it better for us the fans

  • jbizz

    i always believed that if he had ended up in the right system with a coach who let him play his game he might still be doing his thing now. kid of like nash wit the suns

  • http://fdsjklf.com Jukai

    I’m with Teddy. I honestly never really liked White Chocolate. Game was more flash than substance.
    Eboy’s right though, he was pretty pivotol in the Heat’s championship run. He crushed Detroit in that one game.

  • Trout

    I have watched this five times now and I still want more. I wish him and Mcgrady and VC were in their prime on one team would have been sick.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Clipsfan
    Um, I pointed out the assets in the cats game, and said he had the talent to be an all-time great. But he failed.
    That ain’t hate, that’s stating the facts. I didn’t grow up in the era where everybody got sunshine blown up their butts when they failed and were congratulated for “trying hard and having fun.”
    When I was a kid, if you failed, you failed. And nobody told you that you were great, they told you to do better.
    Different era, I guess.

  • http://fdsjklf.com Jukai

    Allenp: Was this 200 years ago?
    Just bustin’ yer balls, sorry!

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    I’m still trying to figure out when Eboy was considered a bust. He was dope in Sacramento, got his game under control in Memphis, was the starting guard for an NBA champion in Miami and has found his niche as a solid backup in Orlando at the end of his career. Where did he “fall off” or whatever the cool term is nowadays for being irrelevant?

  • total scrotal implosion

    Jwill and hubie was one of best pg-coach combos ever. Hubie really helped him become a nba pg, not and1. Those memphis teams were nice, but always had a turrible matchup in the first round and got bounced. Wait, where did my pen go? Now I cant write anymore, homie

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Irrelevant is Damon Jones or Boobie Gibson…let’s not kid ourselves.

  • total scrotal implosion

    Im with eboy here, I didnt ever see the real eboy as all time great potential. Sure, he could have been a lil better but, young ncrazy in sac, cool n control in mtown, ring in mia running the show, now nice backup as he ages

  • http://jaredmintzisthetruth.blogspot.com Jared

    It’s not that he fell off, he just kinda regressed to the mean instead of taking that next step in his career and becoming an elite point guard. His assist numbers dropped from 2003 at 8.3 to 2006 at 4.9. He became a role player when he could have been a star. There’s nothing wrong with that, but he was a sensation when he came into the league and he peaked really early.

  • http://jaredmintzisthetruth.blogspot.com Jared

    to his credit his fg pct was getting better every year and he did definitely get his game under control, but I think it’s fair to say he could have had a better career. It’s not like he had anything to do with Miami winning in 2006, he played well but he wasn’t that significant.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Jared….that’s inaccurate, he was pretty solid for the Heat and contributed some really overlooked moments in that title run. They needed a solid veteran at the point and it was him….NOT THE HOF’er Gary Payton, who led the team most nights from the point. Payton had a couple of nice moments in that run, but he wasn’t the catalyst.

  • http://jaredmintzisthetruth.blogspot.com Jared

    Na man, it was Dylan theory. What are the 5 reasons the heat won in 2006? D-Wade, D-Wade, D-Wade, D-Wade, D-Wade. J Will had a couple of big playoff games but to pretend he was a night-in, night-out contributor towards their playoff run? come on…he scored over 15 in 4 of 23 games. Over 5 assists in 4 games as well. I know the games more about numbers but he wasn’t controlling the games. He contributed, he didn’t make them lose. But it’s not like they won because of him.

  • http://jaredmintzisthetruth.blogspot.com Jared

    *the games more than numbers

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Wade only exploded in the last 4 games against the Mavs….the rest of that run had a much more balanced effort between the squad. Jason wasn’t going to get 20 a night with Shaq, Wade, sh*t even with Antoine Walker in the lineup. Those dudes needed (and got) all the shots they could handle. They needed a distributor…someone who wouldn’t make the ball stick at the one. Eboy worked it. The season before? Damon Jones failed at that. Ever since? The Heat still are light at the point. Just saying.

  • http://jaredmintzisthetruth.blogspot.com Jared

    It’s a valid point, I don’t think we’re trying to sh!t on J-Dub, I just think it’s factual that he didn’t reach his potential. He still had a very good career and I don’t know, maybe it isn’t a shame that his legacy is what it is at this point, but he could have been a more impactful player in the league…no?

  • onlyclipsfanonslam

    @allenp lmao why do you take ranking people so seriously. Does it really irk you that a guy didn’t live up to his potential? Like I said he isn’t the first and won’t be the last. I am glad I enjoyed him when he was White Chocolate. Also, nice touch in alluding that I am some young cat like I am not mature enough to understand what failure is. All this coming from a guy that gets bent out of shape that he has to sound off over the internet, when a guy who has no real effects on his life doesn’t live up to potential.

  • xplore

    I COULD ONLY SAY EVERY PLAYERIN THAT VIDEO AGAINST HIM GOT SERVED. GREAT PLAYER WHEN HE HAD IT. HE HAD A GREAT CAREER, PLAYED WITH RANDY MOSS, TOP POINT GUARD 4 A WHILE, MADE THE NUMBER 55 COOL IN BASKETBALL, AND HE GOT A RING. NOW WHO IS HE? i mean he’s not even in nba 2k10!?!?!?

  • http://jaredmintzisthetruth.blogspot.com Jared

    Clipsfan it’s about love of the game. As fans we’re entitled to want more of the guys who show us what they’re capable of. It sucks that Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler and Kwame Brown all suck when they were supposed to be the next Shaq, Admiral and KG. Maybe that’s a stretch but those guys were introduced to the league as next. It would be more enjoyable if Telfair really was dominating the league and Steve Francis wouldve had a longer career. Jason Williams was the most exciting player in the league for a few years, maybe he was capable of more.

  • http://deleted KH10

    i straight jumped out of my chair when i first saw his dunk on Mario Ellie, one of my favourite sneak dunks of all time. JWill is the man!

  • http://www.slamonline.com Pardeep

    JWill was so fun to watch def has the best handle of any white boy ever.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Alright I can’t front, that was a great mix, and those plays were freaking sweet. But I don’t take back what I said earlier.
    And damn, how can you not like the mix with the music in the background? One of my favorite songs ever.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Clipsfan
    For the record, I didn’t rank anyone. I commented on JWill’s wasted talent initially, and talked about his overall game later.
    We’re talking on the internet, and the last time I checked, the internet doesn’t convey tone or emotion. So, I’m confused about how I got “irked.”
    Where was I irked? What exactly made me seem upset? The fact that I wasn’t fawning over the highlight reel that I”m sure any regular viewer of basketball highlights on You Tube has seen several times?
    JWill had the potential and talent to outstanding. Anybody who watched him closely in Sacremento could see that. Like Jared noted, dude was almost averaging 9 assists at one point, and breaking cats off something nasty. I mean, I remember when Kobe wanted NO PARTS of trying to guard JWill. None.
    In my opinion, he could never seem to master his aggressiveness, while at the same time mastering his penchant for showmanship. He never found that balance and truly harnessed his talent. So, like Derrick Coleman, or Shawn Kemp, and even Allen Iverson, he wasted his talent to a certain degree because he didn’t fully maximize his gifts, in my opinion. Doesn’t mean he was a bum, and I apologize if I gave that impression with my initial comment. But, it does mean he wasted an opportunity.
    It was an observation. That’s what people typically make on comments sections.
    And my comment was saying you didn’t know anything about failure. My comment was noting that you seem to think the default response to things should be “Great job, way to go!”
    Different era. And I ain’t even that old.

  • http://www.twitter.com/retepadam Peter Nygaard

    I contributed to #3.

  • nza

    What a joy it was to watch him and Webber together back then.

  • Dyce

    I remember an interview with Stephon Marbury when they asked him about Jason Williams. Dont remember the exact wording but he said something to the effect that, Coaches only let him play like that because he is white; and that they dont give city guards that kind of rope. Then proceeded to drop 30 and 10 on Williams.

  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    At least we all agree dude was entertaining, not a H.O.F.er But hella fun.. Glad he got his ring.

  • http://thephotoriot.com davidR

    if only he played for nellie.

  • drosefan

    C-Webb and Bibby won more, but he and J-Will were a lot more fun to watch.
    @Dyce Yeah, now J-Will is still in the league backing up Jameer Nelson on a championship contending team and he already has a ring as a starting point guard while Marbury is over in China doing who knows what. I think Marbury would love to be in Jason’s position right now.

  • Dyce

    Rose shouldn’t start, Should be Chauncy and Westbrook. Rose was getting killed by that brazillian point gaurd.

  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    I’d say he’s about as “relevant” as Sam Cassell, which isnt a bad thing.. Except JWill was never selected to the all-star game, was he?

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