Jason Williams in Manila: 'It's Crazy to Me That I Have These Many Fans So Far Away From Home'

The year was 1998. I remember late evenings on our old desktop computer after doing homework, surfing the internet on a primitive dial-up connection, and binge-watching highlights of some NBA rookie who was an absolute wizard with the basketball. It wasn’t anything new, really. Streetball mixtapes were a thing back then but then again, this kid wasn’t crossing over defenders and making the most insane passes in some park or random rec league. This was the tail end of the NBA’s Jordan-led Bulls era we’re talking about, and Jason Williams of the Sacramento Kings was the Great White Hype. 

Jason Williams was the seventh overall pick of the Sacramento Kings in the 1998 NBA Draft 

Photo by Mikko Abello.

Williams just concluded his Manila trip for NBA 3X 2023 on Sunday (March 26), his second time in the Philippines since he played in an exhibition match here with a few other NBA legends back in 2012, and the reception was electric for the seventh overall pick of the Kings in the 1998 NBA Draft during the five days he was in town. I was able to sit down and chat with him at NBA Store Philippines last Friday and he was visibly excited about his return to the country.

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“It’s great, man. It’s unbelievable that I have these many fans here this far away from my house,” he says. The 12-year veteran’s NBA career also saw him suit up for the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic. In the 2005-06 season, Williams was third in scoring during the regular season for the Heat on a team led by Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal that would eventually win the Larry O’Brien trophy that year. 

He may have won his ring in Miami but what people still remember the most were his early days in Sac-town and how he thrilled basketball fans, even those of the opposing team’s, on a nightly basis. It’s been 25 years since his first NBA game. The Kings played San Antonio on the road. 

“Man, it was crazy. I couldn’t believe that I was really in the NBA at that time and playing against the Spurs. Tim Duncan and David Robinson. That was like, wow, I’m in trouble,” Williams vividly recalls. Going up against a team led by two of the greatest bigs the league has ever seen on your first day at work might have been daunting to most people, but looking back at the game footage, the then-22-year-old was quite the picture of on-court composure. I asked him how he felt going into a tough matchup like the Spurs for his rookie debut or going up against any of the other teams’ stars (yes, MJ included) back in the day. 

Williams also suited up for the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic

Photo by Mikko Abello.

“I wouldn’t say I was nervous because it’s just basketball. I think before every jump ball at the beginning of a game, you have a little butterflies, but once the game starts, that’s all out the window. It’s just basketball,” he says. “But I might have thought this was going to be a longer night than the next night.” He finished that game with 21 points and put The Admiral on a poster at least twice.

In a talent-laden draft class that included guys like Vince Carter and Mike Bibby, Williams was picked ahead of eventual greats Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce. He started in all 50 games he played that season, averaging 12.8 points and six assists per game, and was eventually selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team to cap off a memorable first year in the league.

“It was cool, man. I’ll never forget it. Rick Adelman was a great coach for me, and I had a bunch of great teammates that made it a lot easier and a lot fun for me,” he fondly recounts of the exciting Kings squad he quarterbacked that included Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, and Vlade Divac.

Williams’ streetball style of play was always fodder for Filipino fans, especially since this is a country where you can’t go a couple of blocks without seeing a kanto basketball court nearby. His highlights were always the topic of discussion or debate the next day in school. How’d he do that? Was it legal? Is J. Dub ruining the game? A lot of questions that are pretty similar to what you hear people asking about today’s superstars. Williams was just ahead of his time by leaps and bounds. Even some of his coaches tried to rein him in and, thankfully, did not succeed.

Williams started in all 50 games he played in his rookie season, averaging 12.8 points and six assists per game, and was eventually selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team

Photo by Mikko Abello.

“You saw what I did, man, I wasn’t listening to that,” Williams shares. “I don’t say that being cocky or anything but I practiced all those passes that you see me make so I felt confident doing it and once the coaches felt the confidence, everything was fine.”

The fancy dribbling and playground passes were always a delight to witness, some you’ve never seen before, like that elbow pass he pulled in the rookie game, and in some ways reminiscent of earlier point guards that came before Williams who influenced his repertoire somehow.

“You know, the only jersey I ever had was Jason Kidd’s. Dallas Mavericks #5 jersey. He was my favorite player growing up and I loved everything about him,” the player shares.

Our interview winds down and I look out the store and catch a glimpse of the throng of fans waiting patiently outside for a photo or autograph of the man who has the all-time greatest nickname in the NBA, past or present. “Some lady in the PR department of the Sacramento Kings office gave me that nickname,” he shares. White Chocolate. “It is what it is,” he says. 

Twelve years after bidding farewell to the NBA and whether he admits it or not, Jason Williams misses the game as much as the game misses him. In 2017, he made a short-lived return to the hardcourt via a 3-on-3 league but injured his knee early on. Most great point guards transition to roles on the sidelines after they call it a career, although Williams says he sees himself more as a developmental coach if that ever happens. 

The author poses with a Funko Pop of Jason Williams

Photo by Mikko Abello.

“I’m enjoying retirement now and hanging out with you guys,” he says with a smile, but his eyes give away a lot more. We wouldn’t count out the possibility of seeing him back in the game one way or another and big thanks to NBA 3X for reuniting White Chocolate with Manila.

“I just want to say thanks for everything,” he says. “It’s crazy to me that I have these many fans here as far away from where I’m from.”