Mavs' Grant Williams Gains Lakers' LeBron James' Respect By Receiving Signed Jersey
During today's NBA, it has become a common practice for players who respect each other to swap jerseys after games. We've seen Dallas Mavericks superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving do it several times ... although it was a one-sided affair that time Irving gave his jersey to Dillon Brooks, yet didn't take Brooks' jersey in return.
Mavs' forward Grant Williams, who was brought over in a sign-and-trade from the Boston Celtics last summer, has received jerseys from several of his peers, but none of them left him feeling as good as when he received one from Los Angeles Lakers star and the league's all-time leading scorer, LeBron James.
During the Mavs' first matchup with the Lakers this season on Nov. 22, which was a 104-101 win for Dallas, Williams had a brief moment of tension with James, who attempted to bulldoze his way through Williams, but to no avail.
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"Prior to that, we were in practice, and I think I was challenged in a way of saying like, 'you're a physical person, but I don't think anybody fears you or is intimidated by you,'" Williams said in an exclusive Bleacher Report interview with Taylor Rooks on Wednesday.
"I've always been big on not backing down from anyone, no matter what standing or person you are. I'm willing to speak up or be a guy that's gonna not be pushed over."
Although it looked like Williams and James might have had some beef with each other in the heat of that moment, it's all mutual respect on both sides. Although Williams is currently going through a rough patch in his first season with the Mavs, he's had a couple of big playoff moments in his previous two seasons in Boston, which has likely helped him gain more respect from players like James.
"There's definitely gonna be a level of respect," Williams said. "I have jerseys at my house, and I tell whether it's the player I ask, or stars, whoever it is – I say, 'until you respect me as a player, don't give me your jersey. And the day you respect me, can you give me your jersey?' And that's going to be my signal of saying, like 'okay, I've earned this guy's respect,' and I'll have to continue proving it and showing it why I earned it later."
Williams says he got James' jersey the week following Dallas' win in Los Angeles, and there wasn't just a signature on it, but there was a nice note written to him as well. It's something Williams will cherish for the rest of his life.
"I think I ended up getting Bron's jersey that following week. It meant a lot, you know, it's Bron. I grew up watching this dude. I look at it, and I'm like, it's pretty cool to not only have a signature, but a note on the jersey at my house."
After reliving that moment during Wednesday's interview, perhaps it can inspire Williams to rekindle some of play we saw from him during the first 10 games of the season where he was averaging 11.3 points as a starter while shooting 50 percent from the field, including a blistering 51.7 percent from deep.
That hot streak seems like a distant memory now, as Williams' averages have dropped to 8.4 points on 41.8 percent shooting overall, including 38 percent from deep. After starting the first 26 games of the season, Williams has come off the bench in seven of his last eight games as he tries to dig his way out of the slump.
