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Birth
Jason Williams was born on November 18, 1975, in a town called Belle in West Virginia. His family lived in a trailer on the grounds of the high school of which he would end up going to. His father was a state trooper and had keys to the gym of the high school, with which he used to better his game. By age 4 he was an exceptional ball handler, and by age 7 he had a dream to make the NBA. -
High School
Jason right away became the star of his basketball team his freshman year in 1990-91. He played basketball with one of the greatest football players of all time, Randy Moss, and the two accomplished much in their junior and senior years. The pair ended up leading their team to the state championship game, where they unfortunately lost. However, Jason still ended up winning USA Today's West Virginia Player of the Year and became the only player in school history to score over 1000 career points. -
College
Jason ended up first going to college at Marshall. There he redshirted his first year, and the following year averaged a nice 13.4 points and 6.4 assists per game. After this year, he followed his head coach to the University of Florida, where he averaged 17.1 points and 6.7 assist in the 1997-1998 season as a starter. He was unfortunately kicked off the team later on, however, for marijuana use. Being tired of schooling and wanting his shot, he declared for the NBA draft at 22 years of age. -
Draft
Many teams didn't even consider drafting Jason after his run in with drugs during the college season. However, the Sacramento Kings were in need of a point guard, and he fit the job just right. -
Rookie Year
"White Chocolate" had an impressive, yet uncomfortable rookie year. He ended up leading his team in assists with 299 dishes, despite adjusting to life in the NBA. His team even ended up making the playoffs, unfortunately losing in the deciding game of the first round. He did get elected to the all-rookie team for his efforts however. -
Trade to the Grizzlies
During the rest of his time in Sacramento, Jason was looked upon as unreliable and unable to lead the team to the championship they so desperately wanted. After Jason got caught for marijuana, developed a habit for making obscene gestures towards players and fans, and having reportedly made offensive comments towards homosexuals and Asians, the Kings franchise had enough, and traded him to the Grizzlies -
Time on the Grizzlies
The year following his trade to the grizzlies Jason averaged a career best 14.8 points per game and 8 assists per game. He also had a 38 point burst against the Rockets. In the rest of his time on the Grizzlies a TV analyst who used to criticize Jason's play became the new head coach. This relationship eventually turned toxic, with Jason having an argument midgame with the coach. The new coach who came after him also didn't like Jason. After the 2004 season. The GM realized a trade was needed. -
Trade to the Heat
At first, Jason heard talks of him going to Boston. He dreaded this as it would lead to him being the leader of the franchise. However, he happened to be good friends with Shaq, who had wanted to play with him for a very long time. Once the big man made the mode to the Heat, he asked Pat Riley to go get the guy, and Jason became a member of the team as well. -
Time with the Heat
This time around, Jason enjoyed a much slighter role, coming off the bench and averaging 12.3 points and 4.9 assists per game. After getting hurt in the regular season, Jason came in fresh to the postseason that year after resting some time. His team ended up winning the NBA championship with Jason playing consistently and contributing much to the team, averaging 9.3 points and 3.9 assists. Jason continued his time with the heat until the summer of 2008 where he signed with the clippers. -
End Years
The end of Jason's career was plagued with injuries and became the driving force behind his retirement on September 26, 2008. However, after some time thinking and missing the game, he made a return season with Orlando Magic after signing with them on August 19, 2009. He then spent some time there and signed again with the Grizzlies afterwards. Then on April 18, 2011, he announced his second retirement from the game of basketball.
