Tag: Vince Williams Jr.

This photo of Vince Williams smiling while guarding Stephen Curry is absolutely incredible

This is a legendary photo of the Grizzlies wing.

The injured Grizzlies defeated the slumping Warriors on Martin Luther King Day and Vince Williams Jr. enjoyed a breakout performance.

It was an outstanding showing for Williams, who posted his NBA career-best marks in points (24) as well as 3-pointers (3) and free throws (9) while in the starting lineup. But perhaps his best contribution to the game was his defense guarding Stephen Curry.

He finished with two steals and one block, forcing multiple turnovers against the two-time MVP.

RELATED: Get to know Grizzlies’ Vince Williams Jr., a 3-and-D standout

The 23-year-old former second-round pick seemed happy with himself while on the court, too, and flashed a massive smile during while assigned to Curry in the first half. It was great to see him, like his teammate GG Jackson, truly appreciate the joy in the game.

This play was captured by USA TODAY Sports photographer Petre Thomas. Although this was perhaps the most photogenic moment, Williams drew the assignment against the legendary 3-point shooter for most of the game.

He showed no fear against Curry and was an irritant the entire night.

Williams guarded Curry for 42.0 partial possessions during the victory, according to NBA.com. The four-time NBA champion was held to 3.3 points per 100 possessions fewer than his season average during these opportunities.

This season, Williams is one of the best defenders at the point of attack. He currently ranks 97th percentile in the catch-all metric Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (D-EPM), per dunksandthrees.com.

His two-way contract was recently converted to a three-year, $7.9 million deal. That was the most guaranteed money ever given to a player after his two-way contract was converted, via ESPN.

While the injuries to key players on the Memphis roster are unfortunate, it is also great to see that it has led to opportunities for players like Williams and Jackson to contribute at a high level and enjoy themselves in the process.

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Ja Morant pulled up to watch Grizzlies rookies, Hustle in G League

Ja Morant and Desmond Bane were among several Grizzlies that pulled up to watch Memphis defeat Santa Cruz in the G League.

Ja Morant and Desmond Bane were among several Memphis Grizzlies players that pulled up to watch the Memphis Hustle host the Santa Cruz Warriors on Tuesday in the G League.

The two guards were joined courtside by Danny Green and Santi Aldama at the game in Southaven, Mississippi, which is roughly 17 miles south of Memphis. They were treated to a win by the home team as seven players scored in double figures.

Grizzlies rookie Kenneth Lofton Jr. produced a team-high 23 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead the Hustle to the 140-131 win. Dakota Mathias had 22 points, and rookies Vince Williams Jr. (21 points) and Jake LaRavia (20 points) each contributed to the win.

The Grizzlies have utilized their G League affiliate often this season. With playing time at a premium, the rookie players have had the opportunity to log extended minutes with the Hustle to develop.

The team has had a great bond this season, which was on display Tuesday with Morant & Co. showing up to offer their support. The players put on a show for their teammates and earned the win to improve to 7-1 in the regular season.

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Ja Morant serving as a perfect leader for David Roddy, Grizzlies

Only in his fourth year, Morant has established himself as a leader with the Grizzlies on and off the court.

It wasn’t that long ago Ja Morant was navigating through his rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies. The second overall pick from Murray State quickly established himself as the top player in the 2019 NBA draft and was named the Rookie of the Year.

Only in his fourth season, Morant has become one of the elite players in the league. He already has quite a resume: All-Rookie first team, Most Improved Player, All-NBA second team and All-Star with another appearance all but guaranteed this year. In other words: Morant is emerging as one of the next faces of the NBA.

He also has another role on his plate: Leader of the Grizzlies.

Since he arrived in Memphis, the Grizzlies have ascended the Western Conference with Morant leading the way. The group has made the playoffs in back-to-back years and is heading toward a third straight appearance.

Befitting a team on the rise, head coach Taylor Jenkins has relied on plenty of young players since assuming the position in 2019. The Grizzlies are the fifth-youngest team in the NBA this season with an average age of 24.27. They feature a core of Morant, Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks, Brandon Clarke, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ziaire Wiliams. The organization grew even younger by adding five rookies to the roster this year: Jake LaRavia (19th pick), David Roddy (23rd), Kennedy Chandler (38th), Vince Williams Jr. (47th) and Kenneth Lofton Jr. (undrafted).

With such high expectations after tying a franchise record of 56 wins and advancing to the conference semifinals last season, it wasn’t clear how much the rookies would contribute. However, Jenkins said at the beginning of the season they would have the opportunity to play, and Roddy has emerged as a key player off the bench.

Jenkins loves what Roddy brings to the court.

I think his biggest impact is just the competitiveness and the fire he plays with every single day. He is constantly learning the game still at this level — the physicality, the speed, the game-planning. The confidence that we have to throw him on guards and wings and bigs and just accept those challenges is really impressive.

I think he has shown those moments where he is finding a little bit more consistency as a rookie early in the season. Through all of that, (there is a) confidence in him that he is going to go out there and play with max force and try to take charges, try to keep guys in front of him. When he is open, he isn’t going to be afraid to knock down a shot.

Roddy is averaging 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds on 41% shooting from the field in 37 games this season. He has scored in double figures nine times, including a season-high 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists on Dec. 15 in a win over Milwaukee.

Listed at 6 feet, 4 inches and 255 pounds, the team likes the versatility Roddy brings off the bench. He can seemingly be used in multiple ways in the frontcourt, something that has been valuable to the team.

“I take pride in whatever role I’m assigned to do,” Roddy told Rookie Wire. “If that’s coming off the bench and guarding to the best of my ability or using my physicality and bringing energy off of the bench. If that includes knocking down shots on a certain day, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Those numbers by Roddy may not jump off the page, but considering the 21-year-old is logging fewer than 20 minutes per game, that production has been beneficial at times. His per-36-minute stats offer a better idea of what Roddy could do in a larger role: 12.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

Morant values what Roddy brings to the second unit.

I feel like bench production is a big piece to a good team. I feel like we’ve been having that since I’ve been here and now having younger guys come in and play a big part is even better for us. I feel like his development over the games we’ve played has been good.

He is finding his spots on the floor and where he likes to be. I pretty much know if I pass him the ball (he’ll) shoot it. He also can put pressure on the defense by attacking with his strong frame and being able to bulldoze through everybody and finish.

Roddy was thrown into the fire rather early in the season while the team dealt with injuries to Jaren Jackson Jr., Xavier Tillman Sr. and others. Those minutes helped Roddy learn on the fly and adjust to different coverages by opposing teams.

It also helped him get acclimated to his new teammates.

The veterans on the roster constantly encourage Roddy and the other young players on the court. Arriving in the NBA as a rookie can be a daunting task, but the experienced players have made it exponentially easier for him.

“It is very freeing,” Roddy said. “They instill confidence in us. They do what they do and it is also just like: ‘Find some opportunities within the offense to show what you got and be free and be aggressive.’ It definitely helps the team as a whole just with moving the ball and sharing and everything. It is great that they do that.”

Instilling confidence is something Morant wants to do.

He has proven to be the ultimate teammate and has each of their backs through the good and the bad. He often leads by example and is constantly hyping up his teammates on and off the court, and even on social media.

One example: During a game last season on the road versus Philadelphia, Morant found Williams for what would have been the game-winning shot in overtime, but the rookie missed it and the Grizzlies lost. Morant defended Williams afterward, and said he’d make the same play if that situation came up again.

Why are those moments important for Morant?

“I’ve been in that position but I’m a leader on this team,” Morant said. “I’m also the point guard. I feel like if I’m a leader, I have to be vocal. It is just me always trying to instill confidence in each one of our guys. Obviously, with the younger ones, there are going to be ups and downs. You’ll have a stretch where you can’t make anything and you have a stretch where you’re feeling good but you can’t let it change how you attack the game and how you play.”

With Morant and the rest of the players on the team, the Grizzlies’ group of rookies has been surrounded by some great experience and has been put into a position to succeed this year and beyond.

That is a direct result of the buy-in from Morant as their leader.

“He is such a pleasure to be around so I just want to make his job better,” Roddy said. “It definitely helps us jell together more. He is always accepting and always trying to make us better and make himself better.”

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Statistical proof the Grizzlies are picking extremely similar players in the NBA Draft to support Ja Morant

These stats are insane.

The Memphis Grizzlies made four picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, selecting Jake LaRavia, David Roddy, Kennedy Chandler, and Vince Williams Jr.

During his introductory press conference, Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins stressed the versatility that he sees in each of these prospects. Jenkins also emphasized their abilities as playmakers, adding that the “film matches up with the stats” and they all play hard on defense.

We correctly identified LaRavia and Roddy as first-rounders in our final mock draft projections. We also had Roddy projected to Memphis in March and LaRavia to the Grizzlies last month. Roddy, however, was otherwise not often mocked in the first round and LaRavia was rarely considered a top-20 projected pick.

So why was Memphis go against consensus opinion for these two players, even trading away a valuable player in De’Anthony Melton to get the deal done?

When a franchise has a cornerstone like Ja Morant, they do everything they can to work around that building block. So my guess is that these players are individuals the team feels are best suited to support Morant.

But what is it about these players in particular? The data helps provide some context. Last year, based on brilliant research from Shawn Coleman, we speculated about the Grizzlies’ draft philosophy that brings them to target certain types of players in the NBA Draft.

By reverse-engineering statistical profiles, we noticed some notable trends that may intrigue the front office and the scouting department in Memphis. The results for this year yielded three college basketball players who reached the following thresholds last season:

EFFICIENT SHOT SELECTION: EFG% above 57%

VALUE BEYOND SCORING: D-REB% and AST% both above 14%

DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKING: BLK% and STL% both above 2%

Those players (of course) were Wake Forest’s LaRavia, Colorado State’s Roddy, and VCU’s Williams. The Grizzlies literally drafted all three. We also featured all three in our pre-draft interview series!

Chandler, who is the outlier in this group, was a hometown product widely projected to go in the first round. So when he was available in the second round, it was simply too much value to leave him on the board.

Otherwise, however, one reason why those numbers mentioned above are particularly interesting: Some other recent players who also accomplished as much while in college include Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tilllman, and John Konchar. All three, of course, are currently on the Grizzlies.

It’s clear that Memphis wants players that are able to contribute even without the ball in their hands. They are also targeting guys who are ready to make an impact right away, per Grizzlies executive Zach Kleiman:

“As we’ve done with a lot of our prior picks, I think we have mature rookies coming in … Guys who are a little bit more experienced. We feel like we were able to bring in a group that fits what we’re about, and that’s going to help us move the needle.”

The Grizzlies led the league in stocks (steals plus blocks) last season. It’s unlikely, based on what we have seen so far, that they would draft someone with low effort or productivity on that end of the floor.

So what does this mean? Aside from the fact that these are players who can help the Grizzlies straightaway, this exercise can help us identify future NBA prospects who could fit on this roster.

Next season, players who produce at similar levels of productivity as we saw from LaRavia and Roddy ought to be considered targets for Memphis in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Some of the players who were at least relatively close to reaching those aforementioned marks last season and are returning to school include Kris Murray (Iowa), Norchad Omier (Miami), Jalen Slawson (Furman), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Will Richard (Florida), Makhi Mitchell (Arkansas), Kevin Cross (Tulane), and Coleman Hawkins (Illinois).

Perhaps none of them end up going to Memphis, and the Grizzlies try a new philosophy altogether. But regardless, it’s interesting when patterns like this emerge with regard to talent evaluation.

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Get to know the 2022 NBA draft with exclusive, one-on-one interviews with some intriguing prospects

Learn more about some of the most interesting NBA draft prospects.

The NBA is about to welcome a new generation of pros, and we want to introduce you to some of those players before they take the proverbial leap.

Scouts and executives around the league spend countless hours and seemingly infinite resources identifying the top talent in the draft. Before investing millions of dollars into drafting a prospect, it’s important to know everything about what they can contribute to your organization.

That typically includes advanced scouting reports and in-person pre-draft workouts. But it also includes sit-down interviews, the same way it would for anyone applying for a job.

So our goal was to get to know this draft class by asking them how they describe their games, learning more about their backgrounds, what makes them tick as people, what are their interests off the court, and more.

We had in-depth conversations with several top prospects, and we will continue to update this post as we publish more. With all that in mind, before your favorite team is on the clock on June 23, get to know some of the most interesting players in the 2022 NBA Draft:

NBA draft sleepers: Get to know VCU wing Vince Williams Jr., a 3-and-D standout

VCU wing Vince Williams Jr. is one of the more enticing sleepers in the 2022 NBA draft. But he may not stay under the radar for much longer.

VCU wing Vince Williams Jr. is one of the more enticing sleepers in the 2022 NBA draft. But he may not stay under the radar for much longer.

Williams is a senior who has already played four years of college basketball. But he will still be 21 years old on the night of the draft, which makes him younger than sophomore Keegan Murray, a projected lottery pick in this draft class.

Once you look into the statistical profile for Williams, it’s easy to see the appeal. Williams, who says his wingspan is nearly 7-foot, is the kind of role player who can have a high impact in the pros.

Opponents were just 4-for-29 (13.8%) on jumpers off the dribble on possessions when Williams was the nearest defender, per Synergy. According to CBB Analytics, during the minutes when Williams was on the court, other teams shot worse than 30% on non-corner 3-pointers and from the midrange.

He was an irritant and menace on the defensive end of the floor, constantly forcing turnovers for his defensive unit, which fares significantly better with him playing relative to when he was not.

Very few players have notched the level of productivity Williams just showed when it comes to key defensive metrics (block percentage, steal percentage, defensive box plus-minus) and offensive metrics (assist percentage and 3-point attempt rate).

Some of the other players with that impact in recent years include: Herbert Jones, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, and Draymond Green. Within that group, Williams had the highest field-goal percentage both at the rim (68%) and on 3-pointers (38.7%).

Jones, who was a standout rookie during his first professional season in New Orleans, is a particularly interesting comparison for Williams — who sees the similarity in their games.

Williams will have a chance to show what he can bring to the next level while participating in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago between May 16 and 17 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. If he fares well there, he can earn an invitation to the NBA Combine.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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