Sep 28, 2008 | 12:34 AM | White Chocolate Calls it a Career

by: Paul Miles

Jason Williams has retired after 10 seasons. White Chocolate signed a contract in August to play for the LA Clippers, but I guess the idea of never getting paid to play was more appealing then playing for the Clippers.

After leaving school early, J-Will brought that West Virginia street ball swagger and 3+ turnovers a game to a rebounding Sacramento Kings squad. Along with Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and Peja Sojakovic, the Kings went from being a lottery team to a playoff contender overnight.


But Williams' career has been a tale of three cities. His Sacramento Kings days were full of turnovers despite his insane handles. His brash showmanship made his Kings' 55 jersey the top selling in a day when everybody was rocking jerseys.

He helped the Grizzlies unpack in Memphis in 2001 where his style continued until he realized that mad turnovers don't win games. His turnover ration dropped while his assists jumped to 8 a game.

J-Will's career peaked as he continued to mature in 2006 when he helped the Miami Heat win their first NBA Championship. He started all 23 games in the Heat's playoff run and averaged 4 assists and 10 points in the postseason.

Last season was arguably Jason's most efficient. After six years of constant improvement, he managed to bring his turnover rate down from an insane 3.65 in in 1999 to 1.36 in '08. To emphasize the improvement in his ball control, he finished top 10 in the glitzy "assist per turnover" rankings. How he didn't get an ESPY on that stat is beyond me.

In the offseason he signed a deal to play for the Clippers, but decided to hang it up before camp started.

Labels: clippers, grizzlies, jason williams, miami heat, sacramento kings

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