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"Philly raised me" - Lou Williams credits brutal 76ers environment for preparing him for the NBA
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- "Philly raised me" - Lou Williams credits brutal 76ers environment for preparing him for the NBA
Lou Williams played 17 years in the NBA, and it all started in the city of Philadelphia .
A prep star from Georgia and listed as the No. 1 shooting guard in the nation coming out of high school, Lou Will was selected by the 76ers in the second round, 45th overall, of the 2005 NBA Draft. In the City of Brotherly Love, the 6-foot-2 guard further sharpened his skills and built the foundation that would eventually make him one of the best Sixth Men in league history.
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Following a seven-year run in Philadelphia, Williams played for the Atlanta Hawks , Toronto Raptors , Los Angeles Lakers , Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers and continued to soar.
Owing growth to Philly
While he was able to achieve greater success playing for other teams, Williams credits his stay in Philadelphia for playing a huge part in what he became as a player and establishing himself in his professional career.
The now 39-year-old Memphis native spoke about it on Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady's "Cousins" podcast, expressing gratitude for the lessons he got in Philadelphia, both on and off the court, and saying he would not have had it any other way.
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"Philadelphia raised me and made me the man I am. If I would have been anywhere else in the league, I wouldn't have been able to learn how to deal with tough fans. I wouldn't have been able to learn how to deal with tough environments, tough games. Philly raised me and it bred me for all of those things that became what my career is now today," Williams said .
Williams played for the Sixers during the transition from the Allen Iverson era, when he was there from 2005 to 2012. He learned early on from A.I. and then Andre Miller before establishing himself as a reliable offensive threat in the rotation off the bench.
With the Sixers, he finished with career averages of 11.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 455 total games, starting in 38 of them.
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Best Sixth Man ever?
Williams did not win a Sixth Man of the Year award while playing for the Sixers, but claimed three in his career, tied for the most in league history with Jamal Crawford .
He first won the award, given to the best player primarily coming off the bench, in 2015 as a member of the Raptors . Williams claimed the honor again in 2018 with the Clippers after averaging a career-high 22.6 points to go along with 5.3 assists per game. He then repeated the feat in 2019.
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Williams currently holds the record for most career bench points in NBA history with 13,396 from 1,001 games played off the bench, ahead of Crawford (11,279) and Dell Curry (11,147).
Given what he was able to accomplish in his career, Lou Will believes he is the best Sixth Man the league has ever seen. Never mind that he did not win an NBA title or play in the Finals; when it came to embracing the role of coming off the bench, he is confident in saying that he played it as well as anyone.
"If you're a fan of Jamal [Crawford], I think it's fair for you to feel like he could be the best Sixth Man in your opinion. If you're a Lou-Will fan, I feel like it's fair for you to think that I'm the best to ever do it. I got so much love and respect for Jamal. It can go either way… I personally say it's me because, again, that's my legacy and that's what it became," Williams shared .
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All journeys must start somewhere, and fortunately for Williams, he found the foundation he was looking for early in Philadelphia and built on it to create his own niche in the NBA.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Sep 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
