Here’s How the White Chocolate Developed His Unorthodox Style
Let’s just say he’s like the Ol’ Dirty Bastard -there is no grandfather to his style.
Jason Williams was an offensive menace in the 2000s.
He was constantly throwing these flashy passes that no one -sometimes even his teammates- saw coming.
Like, he would do a behind-the-back pass on a fast break, but bounce the ball off of his elbow to deceive the defence. Or he would attack the basket and do a no-look over-the-shoulder pass to a teammate who’s right in place for an open dunk.
He also had crazy handles, where he constantly did And1 moves on an NBA hardwood.
I remember watching him for the first time in the early 2000s and was mesmerized by his play.
I, like all of the teenage basketball fans back then, tried to dribble the ball like him, even though I had the worst handles (I was barely able to dribble with my off-hand).
And don’t even let me get started on me imitating his passes. Let’s just say it resulted in a lot of turnovers.
Williams was extremely fun to watch and copy, but how did he develop all of these moves and this unorthodox skill set?
On the All the Smoke podcast, the White Chocolate told Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that he practiced basketball alone a lot and this forced him to use his imagination and creativity.
“But when I worked out on my own, I was on my own, right? I think kids nowadays lose a lot of their imagination because they’re with a trainer all day. ‘15 minutes we’re gonna do this. In 15, we’re [doing this].’ I’m in the gym by myself, bro, like beating presses, gunning across half court, picking the ball up.
“Now, I’m getting trapped; I’m trying all kind of crazy ass pivots and sh-t like that just because I know I’m going to get stuck in a game one time and I might need that crazy ass pivot. They’re not teaching that crazy ass pivot nowadays.”
He also said that one of the reasons why his game was so impressive is because he had great teammates who were able to finish his passes.
“I had great teammates. I think I had a big bag, but, you know, when I reached in that bag, I had teammates that helped me. They caught a lot of bad passes and finished them too.”
Williams spent his time in the league with multiple teams, such as the Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic.
He didn’t receive a lot of accolades in his 12 years in the NBA, but did win a championship title with the Miami Heat in 2006, where he was the second floor general behind Dwyane Wade.
The White Chocolate was a fan favourite and holds career averages of 10.5 points, 5.9 assists, and 1.2 steals.