How good was Jason Williams in his prime?

[EveryManALion]

I started watching basketball in 2007 so I never got to see him on the Kings or 2006 heat. How good was he in his prime? What is he known as, just a glorified passer? Some of those elbow passes were nice but how productive was it to have him in game?

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

he was exciting as hell. The passing and dribbling were just... :bowdown: Not a great on-ball defender, but could play passing lanes decently (lots of picked passes leading to fast breaks). He ran Adelman's O pretty well, getting the ball where it was supposed to go, but he also took a lot of risks and turned the ball over at times. But some of those risks led to amazing plays, as well.

His greatest flaw, if memory serves me right, was he did a lot of pull up 3s on fast breaks or before the offense got set. Though I was younger back then, I didn't fully analyze his game.

[KNOW1EDGE]

He was famous for his handles and his passes(and his skin color)

But he also had a great mid-range jumper, and could shoot the 3, run a team and set his teammates up.

He was wreck less though, lots of turnovers, lots of bad shots. Prob drove his coaches crazy. A good teammate as far as I could see though.

I absolutely LOVED him when he played for the Kings, he kinda fell off the map with the Griz, but was still a good player, just didn't get the coverage anymore.

[andremiller07]

Not as good as Bibby, above average PG but no where near elite.

[bdreason]

Hard to rank his prime. When he was younger, he made spectacular passes and plays, but that also resulted in TO's and inefficiency. As he got older, he changed his game to improve efficiency, which reduced the number of highlights, but also made him a more stable option at PG. He was never a good shooter, but that also improved as he aged. His best season was probably in Memphis actually, when he started to find a balance between being aggressive and efficient.

[ShaqAttack3234]

As others have noted, he made some ridiculous plays. Particularly his ball-handling and he'd make some passes no other players would even try. He was also really quick with the ball back then.

Unfortunately, his negatives often outweighed the spectacular plays. For every highlight, there would be a turnover and some stupid pull up 27 footer he'd take with 20 seconds on the clock. His shot selection perfectly explains why he shot 37% his first 2 years and just 29% on 3s his second year. He also didn't play any defense back then other than gamble for steals.

The definition of an all or nothing player. It was when the Kings traded Williams for Bibby that they went from pretenders to contenders. But he was fun as hell to watch and when he was there, the Kings weren't known as much for their half court offense and passing as they were for being one of the most wild run and gun teams the last 15 years.

[HelterSkelter]

This makes me feel old.

[Dragonyeuw]

He was spectacular but reckless and turnover prone. His game was modeled in the 'and-1' style that you 'generally see from many black streetballers, hence the nickname 'White Chocolate'.

[chocolatethunder]

Not as good as Bibby, above average PG but no where near elite.
This.

For every amazing highlight he would have at least one amazing highlight gone terribly wrong and several bad shots or boneheaded plays. He had great range but terrible shot selection. He was exciting for sure but that was about it. Not a good defender but gambled in the passing lanes much like AI (except not as good at that). He had retarded handles for sure. In reality he was just a little above average with a lot of flash. If he could have controlled himself he had the tools to be an all star but the problem is he had the brains of the dumbest street baller.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

I would take every PG in this thread over Jason Williams. Bibby, Dre Miller, Mighty Mouse, Iverson...

What has Jason Williams been remembered for? Playing football with Randy Moss, elbow pass, weed, being a racist, and getting carried to a championship in the late stages of his career :confusedshrug: He was flashy, congrats. So was Rafer Alston.

[ihatetimthomas]

Had incredible natural talent. His court vision was amazing and his ball handling and passing were very fun to watch. However, he was always sort of out of control when playing. He could never harness the flashiness until he went past his physical prime. I'd say in Sac town he was at his most exciting prime. But in Memphis Hubie really tried to mold him into a real pg.

[Kblaze8855]

When Hubie got him to calm down a bit in Memphis I thought he was better than Bibby had been there.

[hateraid]

He had more cultural impact than anything else. What Lin is for asians, Jason Williams was for streetballers.

One thing that people didn't mention was he had some crazy range. And when he got hot he could light it up like the NCAA version of Jimmer.

I agree with kblaze, when he went to Memphis he was a decent PG. Too bad his reputation exceeded him that turning form an exciting PG to a quality PG gave people the memory of him being not good. He was one of a kind though.

[ihatetimthomas]

He had more cultural impact than anything else. What Lin is for asians, Jason Williams was for streetballers.



I see where you are going with this, but to compare street ballers to the asian race is a bad comparison. Impacting street ballers and impacting the entire asian demographic are not comparable. 2 completely different groups.

[CeltsGarlic]

I see where you are going with this, but to compare street ballers to the asian race is a bad comparison. Impacting street ballers and impacting the entire asian demographic are not comparable. 2 completely different groups.
ohhhmyygod...who cares? that was a great example.

[ProfessorMurder]

If he could have controlled himself he had the tools to be an all star but the problem is he had the brains of the dumbest street baller.

That's such bullshit. If he was as dumb as a streetballer he wouldn't have been in the league for over a decade.

He played his game, had elite court vision, elite ball handling ability, and was a good teammate. He turned the ball over a bit too much and was less efficient than he could've been... Big deal.

I'd rather watch a dude with balls big enough to pull up for transition threes and throw vicious behind the back passes than Jose Calderon.

---

Plus his departure from SAC is always used against him. The team in 01 was swept by the Lakers in the second round, they were really young. The team in 02 was much better, more experienced and had better role players.

- Bibby shot 9 times more per game in the 02 playoffs than JWill did in 01, on the nearly the same fg%. That's no more efficient, but 20ppg looks better than 9.

- Bibby averaged 2.3to in 02, JWill averaged 2.6. That's no more efficient.

- JWill's playoff numbers in 05 on Memphis are roughly as good as Bibby's were at his peak.

They're roughly the same player but people dog JWill more.

[ihatetimthomas]

ohhhmyygod...who cares? that was a great example.

Its actually not. Lin was a global phenomenon and had bigger impact on the NBA (although short lasting). Its comparing apples and oranges. How are you going to compare the first asian american to play in the NBA to a streetballer? Now again I said I understood where he was coming from but there are better comparisons to use.

[Xiao Yao You]

They're roughly the same player but people dog JWill more.

They weren't the same player. The Kings offense ran through Webber and Divac. Bibby could hit open 3's. Much better fit. He probably would have been better on Memphis too with the ball running through Gasol.

[ihatetimthomas]

Plus his departure from SAC is always used against him. The team in 01 was swept by the Lakers in the second round, they were really young. The team in 02 was much better, more experienced and had better role players.

- Bibby shot 9 times more per game in the 02 playoffs than JWill did in 01, on the nearly the same fg%. That's no more efficient, but 20ppg looks better than 9.


When you put up more shot at the same %, you are scoring more efficiently bc its more difficult to maintain a higher % with more shots. Plus Bibby shot at a better % in 02 than JWill in 01. 44% to 42%.




- Bibby averaged 2.3to in 02, JWill averaged 2.6. That's no more efficient.

Bibby played 17 more mpg in those playoffs you are comparing and turned the ball over less. Are you going to try to tell me thats "no more efficient?"




- JWill's playoff numbers in 05 on Memphis are roughly as good as Bibby's were at his peak.

Jwill played in 4 games in 05. Bibby was playing 12+ playoff games in his prime. Harder to maintain high stats in more games.




They're roughly the same player but people dog JWill more.

You are reaching with your assessment on efficiency. Bibby bar none was more efficient and was also very clutch. Bibby was the better pg in his prime.

[imdaman99]

the bibby and jwill comparison... brings me back to the good ole days :D

bibby did not have the vision that jwill had, but that doesnt mean he wasnt a better PG. in the kings system, the offense didn't need the PG breaking down the defense and setting ppl up. they needed his ability to outplay the other PGs come playoff time, which i didnt see jwill doing much of. he might have outplayed kidd against the suns one of those years but i think he went on his pullup 3 barrage and was making them. when you're hitting your pullup 3s, thats the hardest shot to stop. when you're missing them... you're ticking your teammates who run down as well as your coach off.

bibby was clutch, he could come off that webber screen and drill it like he did in game 5 against the lakers. he outplayed the hell outa fisher. the kings became championship contenders, no longer pretenders once bibby switched places with jwill.

i did appreciate jwills time, he helped bring so much excitement to the nba. my cousin's fav player lol, i still have his jersey somewhere in my closet. he matured under hubie in memphis. and helped get them to the playoffs a few times.

[CeltsGarlic]

Its actually not. Lin was a global phenomenon and had bigger impact on the NBA (although short lasting). Its comparing apples and oranges. How are you going to compare the first asian american to play in the NBA to a streetballer? Now again I said I understood where he was coming from but there are better comparisons to use.

Both guys were one of the first ever to achieve it. Im on aphone so i wont elaborate. Sorry.

[KungFuJoe]

Even though I hate the troll, Bibby was clutch as ****.

Jwill was more flash than substance.

[longtime lurker]

Like everyone has already said, J Will was one of the most 'exciting' point guards in the league, but also very very reckless. He's almost like a mix between Rubio and Westbrook's erratic play. I think he was definitely underrated though.

[hateraid]

Its actually not. Lin was a global phenomenon and had bigger impact on the NBA (although short lasting). Its comparing apples and oranges. How are you going to compare the first asian american to play in the NBA to a streetballer? Now again I said I understood where he was coming from but there are better comparisons to use.

I think most people would find it relatable. You're knitpicking. It's not comparing a street baller to an international player, it's comparing cultural effects to a specific demographic.

[ILLsmak]

Not as good as Bibby, above average PG but no where near elite.

Super disagree with that even tho I like Bibby.

This is the way I judge players. I ask myself questions: MVP caliber (capable of winning 50 games)? Then superstar (capable of leading a team to the playoffs)? Then all-star. Then, the next category is a bit different. You could be any of the earlier categories and NOT be this category: Could he be an integral part of a championship team?

I say yes. I think there is a list of teams that were almost winners that you could replace their PG with Jason Williams and they would win. Dude is mad underrated. I choose to believe his pull up 3s were just because he didn't give a ****. I don't think he would have done that if his team had a chance to win the championship.

-Smak

[Fresh Kid]

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrkwsoW4S21qcmnsoo1_500.png http://shaq.itgo.com/nba/jason_williams1.jpghttp://www.angelfire.com/ca3/jwilliams/images/jwill02.jpg https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQKY2Td4RN7uEpeHkn3SNr_bhE96K5O5 4nMsdtsSLnBrBrApnHYhttp://www.oocities.org/thegoogs_it/hapjas.jpg http://25.media.tumblr.com/026ada17a96f1fbf8f29ba177c236a2d/tumblr_mhfcfw3vo61qdon07o1_500.jpg

[Lebron23]

Very exciting player, but he was a turnover prone. Bibby was the perfect fit on that Kings team.

One of my favorite J-Will moments was when he crosses over Gary Payton in his rookie season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAiAzRSoq1w