Hawks. “Lou is like an uncle. He’s just
cool with everybody and everybody re-
spects him. He’s like an old soul, man. He
looks young, but Lou is really, like, 60.”
“He’s Uncle Lou,” says Jordan Clark-
son, who played with Williams on the
Lakers. “He’s on his own wave, he’s on his
own vibe. He’s going to do what he wants
to do. I think that’s why people look at
him and respect him for who he is."
“He’s very humble, first and foremost,”
describes his longtime trainer Chuck
Ellis. “He’s a very loyal person. If you’re
in his inner circle, if you’re his family, he’ll
do anything he can for you. And he has
a big heart—I’ve never seen him tell one
fan no about taking a picture or signing an
autograph or anything like that.”
As the legend of Lou has grown, the
man himself has never switched up. He’s
the type of guy who loves to debate, main-
ly because his core values and beliefs
cannot be shaken. He’s stubborn about his
ways and constantly tries to impart wis-
dom. He even has his own little proverbs.
“He’s always got something to tell you
or some insight to give you,” Clarkson
says. “He for sure got go-to quotes.”
Do you think anyone’s gonna care about
this in 15 years? is a popular one.
Over the course of his career, Lou has
often deserved a bigger spotlight. He
has more than 13,000 total points and
has been a major contributor to multi-
ple organizations. This past season, he
averaged 20.0 points and 5.4 assists in
merely 26.6 minutes.
But Williams doesn’t seek the public
eye. He’s barely promoted any of his
music and you won’t see him doing many
interviews or photo shoots.
“He has always never really cared to
get any recognition,” says Hamilton. “Even
with us, he doesn’t want to do press, he
doesn’t want to do media, he doesn’t want
to do anything. I have to force him. I always
tell him, 'You owe me 10 things a year with
no pushback. Just give me my 10.'”
Others who’ve come to appreciate his
game have made a point of speaking up
for him. They understand how great he is
and sense that outsiders don’t.
“You can’t just say, ‘I’m gonna stop
Lou Williams tonight,’” Kevin Durant told
reporters during Golden State’s playoff
series against L.A.
“He’s straight buckets,” says Scott.
“He’s a professional scorer. You know,
he’s not the strongest, he’s not the fast-
est. But I mean, I can’t explain it.”No one can, really.
Everyone knows what Lou’s going to
do and yet he can’t be stopped. He likes
to go left and has certain spots on the
floor that he navigates toward. The pace
is slow, methodical and intentional. He’s
a killer out of the pick-and-roll and has
a slight fade to his shot that creates just
enough separation. As he dismantles a
defense possession after possession, his
expression doesn’t waver.
“I’m an assassin,” Williams states. “I’m
one of those people that—I’m not really
talked about, but everybody knows that
I’m there. No matter how many All-Stars
are on the floor, I’m going to be one of
those guys that’s gonna be talked about
as well. There’s a lot of guys that you
have to deal with on the frontline, but
you know that somewhere, there’s some-
body [else] that you got to look out for.
I’m that person.”
People with his skill don’t usually come
off the bench. As an All-American in high
school, Lou opted to bypass college and
was the 45th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft
by the 76ers. He got the chance to learn
under his childhood hero in Allen Iverson
but barely saw the floor. Iverson was soon
traded to Denver and Lou’s role graduallySLAMONLINE.COM 35