Like most NBA rookies, Jason Williams was also hazed by his veteran teammates during his maiden season in the league. According to J-Will, he was given a fair share of rookie duties back then, but there were those that he would never forget.
One of them involved Vernon Maxwell .
Maxwell was already in his 10th year in the NBA when he became teammates with a rookie Williams in Sacramento. Williams said he was well aware of who Mad Max was and he couldn't complain the moment Maxwell asked him to perform a task for him.
However, J-Will wasn't gonna just obey Maxwell like a good servant. Instead, White Chocolate came up with a plan to ensure that Maxwell wouldn't treat him the same way again. And he apparently succeeded.
"We go to Dallas, the first road trip, [Max] he go like, 'Hey, white boy, I want some donuts and juice into the room in the morning.' I said, 'I got you, big dog,'" Williams recalled in a podcast interview last year.
"So, about 2:33 in the morning, [I came] banging on his door," Jason continued. "He was dead asleep. [He's like] 'What you're doing? Lah, lah, lah' I said, 'Here you go, your juice and your donut.' He ain't never asked me again."
The Kings were stacked with a bunch of veterans when Williams joined the team in 1998. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't just Maxwell who hazed him at the time.
In a separate discussion, White Chocolate was asked about the time he allegedly hid underneath the bus to avoid performing rookie chores for the team during a road trip.
Based on how J-Will remembered it, he wasn't hiding from his teammates that day.
As it turns out, Williams revealed that it was the entire team's idea and they all asked him to be there.
"Sh—t! Hiding? I wasn't hiding nothing," J-Will once recalled on All the Smoke podcast. "They put me under the bus…Look, bruh, it was in Boston. We get off the plane and the snow is high as them barrels on the runway. Not only did I have to ride, I had to put the bags in there first and then get in there with the bags. Talking about 'Where's J-Will?' J-Will's coming, he's straight. Colder than a mug under there, though."
It's understandable that most of Williams' older teammates during his rookie season felt that he had to be hazed. For them, every NBA newcomer should undergo rookie initiation to prove that they belonged in the big boys' league.
In J-Will's case, he didn't just show the vets that he could perform just about any rookie duty they asked him to do. He also proved that he was worthy of being in the NBA during actual games.
As a youngster, White Chocolate was already playing like a grown man. He gave his older matchups a hard time on the court with his quickness, craftiness and above all, his flashy playmaking skills.
It didn't take long before Williams made a name for himself in the league. He finished his rookie season as a top Rookie of the Year candidate, averaging 12.8 points, 6.0 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
