Miami Heat's Jason Williams: Still Ballin'

He really was once that flashy.

With tattooed arms and a cocky swagger about his game, he was the young floor general of the Sacramento Kings. The shots he took, however rushed and ridiculous, were expected to go in.

This was the player the University of Florida gave up on and kicked out because he violated team rules.

This player was a seemingly pissed off point guard with a mission to irritate the media, to become the Eminem of the NBA.

This is no longer the case. The tattoos are still there, but that's about it.

Actually, he's been inked a few more times since his arrival in Miami before the 2005-2006 season, but the new Jason Williams, point guard of the Miami Heat, is not the same player he once was. 

Whereas he would've pulled up for an off-balance three-pointer back then, he now merely pulls the ball out, looks for trailers, and runs Head Coach Pat Riley's offense. (Well, the occasional pull-up three may still occur.)

Instead of throwing it off the glass for a player running behind him for the Sports Center highlight alley-oop, he now takes it in himself or simply turns and hands it off.

The flashiness, for the most part, is gone.

Of course, when watching—okay, sitting through—the current Miami Heat games, one will see the behind-the-back passes for which J-Will was once so famous. Williams is no longer as interested in winning games as he is in winning a second championship.

His job has changed.

In Sac and Memphis, he was expected to be a major scoring contributor night in and night out. Now, J-Will and the Heat can also rely on Shawn Marion and Dwayne Wade. 

Williams is now responsible for running the offense, running the offense, running the offense, shooting, and running the offense.

With Wade and Marion out for the season, J-Will has shown that he can still score and be a top-flight NBA point guard, averaging 14 points per game in March.

In one of those games, against the Heat's in-state rival the Orlando Magic, J-Will exploded for 34 points and sprained his ankle twice. Games like these show that given the right situation, the ability is still there for J-Will.

He has said he wants to remain in Miami but team officials will most likely be thinking differently this offseason.

Most likely they'll give Marcus Banks and an expected pickup the chance to start at point guard, leaving J-Will, currently in the last year of his contract with Miami, to test the free agent market.

A family man, and one who regularly gives back to underprivileged children, is what J-Will has always been.

A thug with a different agenda and bad attitude is something he has never been. Other than a few scraps with fans early on in Sacramento, J-Will has stayed out of negative tabloids.

He's never been arrested, though he's part of a league in which that's untrue for most.

This, from a player Coach Phil Jackson likened to American History X characters during team meetings.

This, from a player who stays out of the media spotlight and is regularly the first member of the team off the court in an effort to not be interviewed.  He'd rather just go home and unwind.

Jason Williams...now you know him.