Former UNLV star Williams flashes skills for Nets, has long road to NBA

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, July 9, 2022 | 2 a.m.

If Donovan Williams needed a reminder of how steep his climb to the NBA will be, the Las Vegas Summer League is giving it to him.

The former UNLV star made his professional debut Friday as his Brooklyn Nets summer team took on the Milwaukee Bucks at Cox Pavilion. Wearing a No. 88 jersey, Williams did not check in until 6:20 remained in the second quarter. He played five minutes and change, then subbed out just before the end of the first half.

Williams didn’t see the court in the second half.

That’s life for an undrafted free agent trying to earn a roster spot in the world’s most competitive basketball league, and Williams understands that.

“It’s been a journey in the last two or three months,” Williams said.

Even when Williams plays well — like he did against Milwaukee — the odds are decidedly stacked against him.

A minute after checking in, Williams teed up a catch-and-shoot 3 from the top of the key and connected. A few possessions later, he attacked a closeout from the wing, swooped to the basket, elevated up and around a help defender and contorted to make a layup that drew oohs and aahs from the capacity crowd. Good stuff.

Williams finished 2-for-2 from the field for five points, with one rebound and two fouls. He looked the part.

At UNLV, the coaches might have started calling plays to feed Williams and take advantage of his hot hand. Not in the summer league, though, as the Nets’ organizational priorities superseded his hot streak. Here, Williams is the ninth man on the depth chart. Nothing more, nothing less — until he proves otherwise.

Adam Caporn, the Brooklyn assistant who is helming the summer league squad, was asked about Williams’ short stint after the game.

“Coach should have played him more,” Caporn said with a smile, before getting down to the reality of the situation. “We have a bit of a plan for the minutes, and we stuck to it. Some flexibility, of course. He will see some time, for sure. He’s just got to get better at the small things.”

Caporn mentioned shooting, physical strength and communication as key areas where Williams will have to improve if he wants to eventually make it to the NBA, whether it’s with Brooklyn or another franchise somewhere down the road.

Another thing Williams will need is opportunity. It’s difficult to make an impression in five minutes of court time, but Williams came off the bench for most of his lone season at UNLV and earned Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year honors, so he knows how to rev his engine right away and make an immediate impact.

He said that mindset will help him as he navigates summer league, where minutes are at a premium.

“Whether I play five minutes, whether I play 15, whether I play 25, I just try to go in and make plays,” Williams said. “You don’t know how many minutes you’re going to play before the game, but when you’re out there, I’m just trying to do everything I can to stay on the court.”

His next chance will come on Sunday afternoon when the Nets take on the Philadelphia 76ers summer squad at the Thomas & Mack Center. That game may feel like more of a homecoming for Williams, as he’ll be playing in the same arena where he suited up for UNLV during his breakout 2021-22 campaign (12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 43.6 3FG%).

Williams said his emotions welled up on the bus ride to Cox Pavilion on Friday, and that he tried to soak in the moment as he made his way onto the court as a professional for the first time.

“I had been pinching myself on the whole way over here,” Williams said. “I was locked in. I was trying to make sure I didn’t let the moment overtake me. Trying to remember my defensive assignments, the things I was supposed to do offensively, but for the most part just really enjoying the moment. You only check in for the first time one time.”

There’s no guarantee Williams will see more playing time on Sunday, regardless of how well he performs. If Brooklyn wants to take an extended look at one of the other perimeter players on its summer roster, Williams could see his minutes reduced or even eliminated. That’s what he signed up for when he decided to enter the draft.

His path to the NBA is not going to be an easy one, but Williams is determined. When his number is called, he will be ready to go out and turn heads, confident that someone will notice.

“That’s all I’m trying to do,” he said. “Every time I go on the court, I want people who have never seen me play, people who don’t even know my name, to just go home with something and be like, ‘Man, he was nice. I don’t know his name, I’m gonna look him up.’”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.