L
OU WILLIAMS
is somehow both
underappreciated and
respected. He’s arro-
gant and humble. He’s
young and old. He’s
super laid-back and he’s an assassin.
He lives in a quiet town and throws
parties so big they inspire hit rap songs.
He makes his own music and doesn’t care
to promote it much.
He never starts and is always one of
the best basketball players in a game.
He won’t go unnoticed and he won’t
say a word. He does things his way and
is the ultimate teammate. He keeps to
himself and he’s cool with every cele-
brity you know.
He hasn’t been an All-Star and he
regularly puts up All-Star numbers. He
writes his name in record books and
could not give a shit about his legacy.
The story of Lou Will can be broken
down into what seems like a million con-
tradictions, but they’re not. They all make
perfect sense for the Underground GOAT.I
T’S A BEAUTIFUL
Thursday in mid-June and Lou
Williams is kicking it at
LouWillVille, his now-fabled
home in suburban Atlanta.
Wearing black sweatpants and
Uggs that aren’t fully slipped on, he
crashes on the living room couch. A
nearby trophy case displays two Sixth
Man of the Year awards—from 2015 and
2018—and a ledge for a third has already
been put in place, even though a formal
announcement of the 2019 winner has
yet to come.
Jerseys hung up in the basement
trace Lou’s journey from a kid dreaming
of the NBA to the No. 1 bench scorer in
league history. Trying to explain that path
and all that it’s encompassed isn’t easy.
The truth is, it’s had a little bit of every-
thing. Five different cities, an idol turned
big brother, an acceptance and mastery
of a unique role, a 3 a.m. trade call in
China, an absurd amount of buckets.
It’s featured a wide array of characters:
Jermaine Dupri, Bow Wow, Allen Iverson,
Meek Mill, Drake, Doc Rivers. It’s had ups
and downs and strange twists, but the
action continues to rise.
Its protagonist is only 32 years old and
has enough tales to fill several books.
He once hosted a party so epic that
it inspired Meek Mill, one of his best
friends, to write the well-known song
“House Party.” It went on to be certifiedgold and the music video was filmed back
at LouWillVille.
Lou raps himself and has collaborated
on projects with Meek, 2 Chainz, Jadakiss
and numerous others. He started his own
label—Winners United—that has three
artists currently signed to it.
As a teenager, he was introduced to
Jermaine Dupri and Bow Wow at a Jay-Z
concert and would keep in touch with
them on AOL Instant Messenger. They all
remain tight to this day.
He joined an unknown, unsponsored
AAU club called the Suwanee Players
and made them so good that they were
eventually absorbed by a premier pro-
gram—the Georgia Stars.
At South Gwinnett High School, he
scored 40 or more points in nine straight
games.
He spent a lot of time in the studio
with Drake as the album If You’re Reading
This It’s Too Late was being recorded. One
of the tracks, “6 Man,” opens with a shout
out to him.
He led the Clippers back from a
31-point second-half deficit against the
Warriors during the first round of the
2019 playoffs, dropping 17 of his 36 in
the third quarter alone.A gunman attempted to rob him on
Christmas Eve in 2011, but Lou talked
the guy out of it. The two took a trip to
McDonald’s instead, where they chopped
it up about life.
Who is this figure who's transcended
basketball, who has earned the respect
of seemingly everyone he’s come across?
Who is Lou Will?
“I’m super laid-back,” Williams tells
SLAM. “I mind my business. I stay in my
own zone. And I do my own thing.”
“Lou is just cool,” explains Andrea
Hamilton, his manager. “He has that vibe,
that aura. When people are around him,
they gravitate toward him. They like his
energy. He’s not one of those people
walking around flashy. He’s the everyday
guy who can go anywhere, talk to anyone,
be in rooms with whoever.”
“You know man, he’s just a regular
dude,” says Jarrett Jack, who’s been
close to Lou for the past 15 years. “One
thing that I love about him—he seems
like that regular dude that’s just from the
neighborhood. Through and through, he’s
still a 'Let me get a 10-piece wings' guy.”
“He’s your favorite player’s favorite
player,” adds Mike Scott, a friend of Lou’s
since they were first teammates on the34 SLAMONLINE.COM