When a rookie gets brought into the NBA, they go through the customary rookie hazing period. For Lou Williams, he was a 19-year old rookie straight out of high school when he joined the Philadelphia 76ers in 2005 and he received a dare from his veteran teammates.
Being 19, Williams obviously was not old enough to have a drink just yet, so Allen Iverson and Matt Barnes dared the rookie to drink a six-pack of beer for $15,000.
Williams and Barnes told the story on the All The Smoke podcast. Barnes stated:
We made a bet that he had to drink a six-pack. He’s fresh out of high school…that (expletive) killed it!
Williams added:
They said I couldn’t drink a six-pack of beer before we got on the plane for $15,000.
Being only 19, the alcohol hit Williams fairly quickly and the veterans, who added Chris Webber to the plan as well, had to come up with a plan to get him on the bus without the team suspecting something. Barnes said they had a plan as he put it:
He kind of had his arm slumped on AI’s shoulder, and then me and C-Webb was kind of in front. He was still there, but he was—He handled himself well, but he was (expletive) up. You know what I mean? So, we had to kind of camouflage his ass up onto the plane.
The 2005-6 version of the Sixers didn’t do so well on the court finishing with a 38-44 record, but they certainly appears they had some fun off of it.
Williams has since gone on to become one of the best 6th men the NBA has ever seen while Barnes has retired after winning a title in 2017 with the Golden State Warriors. [lawrence-related id=20559,20550,20542]