There are a lot of reasons to love Lou Williams, not the least of which is the truth-is-sometimes-stranger-than-fiction tale of how he once foiled a robbery attempt by simple virtue of being Lou Williams, then treated his would-be assailant to dinner at McDonald’s.
Then there’s the fact that, on the court, he’s a cold-blooded assassin. As one of the league’s best pure scorers off the bench, he’s a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate, a slightly younger version of Jamal Crawford carrying the torch for the increasingly rarefied breed of specialty offensive weapons like himself.
Williams actually won the Sixth Man award toward the end of his tenure in Toronto, which is a time he remembers fondly in terms of the relationships he forged as a member of the Raptors, with one teammate in particular standing above all the rest among the many stops along his NBA journey.
Via Alex Wong of GQ.com:
You’ve played on a bunch of teams throughout your career. Who is your favorite teammate?
DeMar DeRozan. He’s the coolest person in the world—the most down-to-earth and supportive teammate I’ve had in my career. I was at a bit of a crossroads in my career when I came to Toronto. DeMar and Kyle [Lowry] were the people that really lifted me up. I respect them for that.
Both have gone on to build impressive resumes since their time together, with DeRozan and the Raptors currently clinging to the No. 1 seed in the East and Williams playing well enough with the Clippers this season to earn himself a three-year contract extension with the team.
And though it’s doubtful Los Angeles will quality for the postseason, Williams has been arguably the primary reason they’ve been so fun to watch this year amid all the upheaval. Regardless, it’s touching to see two former teammate express such an obvious affinity for one another, especially this time of year when the levels of pettiness and general acrimony are often plummeting toward their nadir.
