Former Gonzaga standout signs with London team

Johnathan Williams continues to find professional opportunities overseas

Former Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Johnathan Williams (3) has signed a deal to play for the London Lions of the Super League Basketball. | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Johnathan Williams' pro basketball career is set to continue in London.

The former Gonzaga standout has signed a contract to play for the London Lions, a team based in Stratford, England.

The Lions announced the addition of Williams in a social media post on Aug. 2. The move came less than two weeks after the club appointed Tautvydas Sabonis — brother of All-NBA forward and Gonzaga legend Domantas Sabonis — as the team's head coach.

The Lions also disclosed last month that the team will be moving from Great Britain's Super League Basketball fixture to join the BKT EuroCup, considered as EuroLeague Basketball's second-tier competition, with aspirations of one day reaching Europe's top basketball league.

Williams made stops in Israel, Turkey, Italy, Poland, Japan, the Philippines and Kuwait following stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards. The 6-foot-9 forward spent the past few years competing in the top leagues in Asia, including the B.League (Japan) and the Philippine Basketball Association.

Dec 1, 2017; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Jeremy Jones (22) and Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Johnathan Williams (3). | James Snook-Imagn Images

Williams last played for the Chiba Jets (Japan) of the B.League, averaging 11.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 17 appearances with the team. He previously logged 10 games for Shizuoka Veltex (Japan), putting up 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in the short amount of time he was with the team.

The Lions finished atop the standings in the inaugural season of the Super League Basketball with a 24-8 record, though it didn't translate to a championship as the Leicester Riders won the playoff championship final, beating the Newcastle Eagles 105‑74 at London’s O2 Arena in May.

Sabonis joins the Lions after rising through the coaching ranks at Žalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania), where he was recently an assistant coach with the club's EuroLeague side.

The nine-team Super League Basketball replaced the former British Basketball League as Great Britain's premier competition for pro basketball when it was established nearly a year ago on Aug. 2, 2024. The league is owned and run by its member clubs, which collectively invested over £15 million (equal to about $20 million) to build its foundation.

Williams' combination of athleticism, size and defensive versatility made him quite the force to be reckoned with in college. The former Missouri commit blossomed into an all-conference player by the end of his Gonzaga tenure, in addition to playing a key role in the Bulldogs' run to the national championship game in 2017. The following year, Williams took home All-West Coast Conference first team honors with 13.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in the 2017-18 season.