After high school Jason went to a Military academy but he did not like it and later Jason enrolled into Marshall college. He played for one season starting all 28 games as a freshman. Here he averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 assists per game, shooting .522 from the field and .380 from 3 point range. But after one season Jason moved on to play with the Florida Gators. He sat out 1996-97 as a transfer after following Marshall head coach and former NBA player Billy Donovan to Florida. He played 20 games for the Gators in 1997-98, leading the team with 17.0 points, 6.7 assists and 2.65 steals before being dismissed from the team on February 17 for violating team and athletic department policy. He was leading the Southeastern Conference in assists, steals and free throw percentages (.840) at the time of his dismissal. Williams, who shot .441 from the field but .403 from three-point range, had 31 pints including 5-for-10 from behind the arc and 10-for-10 from the foul line against Texas and 26 points including 8-for-12 on 3-pointers against Auburn. But maybe his best game of his life came when he scored 25 points in leading the Gators to victory over eventual NCAA champions Kentucky.
Jason applied for early entry to the 1998 NBA Draft and was the 7th overall pick by the Sacramento Kings. He was a 6-1 point guard with the ability to amaze with his passes and three point shooting. In the 1998-99 season, his first in the NBA, he was the starting point guard for the Sacramento Kings playing in every game. He was the biggest surprise of the 98 Draft averaging 12.8 points, 6.0 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. He ranked 17th in the NBA in assists per game, 15th for steals per game,4th in three point field goals made and number 1 in highlight plays. In the voting for the rookie of the year, He finished second behind Vince Carter of the Raptors. He made the all-rookie first team. In the playoffs against the Utah Jazz, Jason averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game.
During the summer before his sophomore season in the NBA Jason didn't work out hard and failed the mandated drug test at the beginning of the year.. This led Jason to a rough 99-00 season where he played very erratic. Jason shot the worst percentage for a staring guard in over 15 years(For the amount of attempts). He shot 28% from the three point line. He missed his first game of his NBA career that year due to a migrane headache. Jason did make more threes and freethrows then in his rookie season but his overall scoring was down his turnovers were up but so were his assists which he was 7th in the league in the assist category. Jason led the Kings to the playoffs against the Lakers where they lost in the 5th game in the best of 5 series. It was a great series and Jason Williams scored 20 in the first game and he improved in all categories in the playoffs from year before.
Jason had a solid 3rd season, shooting the best percentage of his career and achieving the highest assist to turnover ratio for his career. But sadly Jason and Coach Rick Adelman never seemed to be on the same page, this led Jason to reduced minutes therefore reducing his scoring and assists. Rumor floated that Jason reminded him of Pete Maravich too much. Some said that when Adelman played with "Pistol" Pete he did not appreciate the extra attention he got, while he the hard worker received little. Jason led the Kings to a Sacramento high 55 wins, and his solid play earned the Kings their first playoff series victory in Sacramento. After eventually losing to the Lakers, Jason questioned his role and as he put it "suggested to be traded" his suggestion was met as he was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies. Jason seemed happy with the move and it help jump-start his career.
In his first season in Memphis-JWILL was back! Coach Sidney Lowe gave Jason free reign something his former coach, Rick Adeleman, never could. Jason had some bad moments, including the famous "We suck" comments but overall Jason got along with his team and generally seem to be at peace with the world. The Grizzlies gave Jason a long term contract and pretty much handed him their hearts. Jason averaged a career high of 14.8 points, 8.0 assists, and 79 percent freethrow percentage. He added career high games of 38 points(against Houston) and assists(19 VS Golden State) Also while his flair was back he still had his best season as far as assist-turnover ratio goes. Jason also had a beautiful baby boy with his girlfriend Denika Kisty on September 23, 2001. The boy's name is Jaxon (with no S) Jason led the Grizzlies to a franchise record for victories (including great victories over the Kings, Lakers, and Sixers.)
In the early part of the 2002-03 season the Grizzlies got off to a horrible start. After not achieving a single victory in 8 games the Grizz fired head coach Sidney Lowe. Lowe never seemed to get a set rotation and new addition Wesley Person really stuggled. Jerry West shocked the basketball world when he hired Hubie Brown to replace Lowe. Brown had not coached in the NBA in over 10 years, and at 69 years old there was no way he was going to connect with brash younger players like Jason, and Drew Gooden. It was true with Gooden, as he turned out to be a problem child. Gooden along with Gordan Giricek were traded to the Orlando Magic for Mike Miller. While Coach Brown could not get much out of Gooden he was able to turn Jason Williams into a controlled player. Jason had the most successful season of his career, finishing number two in the NBA in assists and most surprsingly number two in the nba in assist to turnover ratio. Coach Brown and Jason seem to have a perfect relationship and with a new franchise record for victories the Grizz have their eyes on the playoffs.
Copyright � 2002 by Jason Williams Kingdom
