Los Angeles Lakers: Getting to know Jonathan Williams

Undrafted rookie Johnathan Williams is beginning to cement his role in the Los Angeles Lakers rotation as an energy guy.

6″9 power forward Jonathan Williams is already becoming a Los Angeles Lakers fan favorite because of how hard he plays on the court.

Every second that he has played, Jonathan has been flying around the court like it was the last game he would every play. This came as a pleasant surprise for fans who are getting tired of making excuses for Ivica Zubac‘s lack of progression, who most expected to be the Los Angeles Lakers backup center this season.

Williams started his journey to the NBA by going undrafted out of Gonzaga. He ended up joining the Lakers summer league team this past season. While his Summer League stats were relatively unimpressive, Jonathan proved his intangibles were enough and signed a training camp deal with the Lakers on July 21st.

After sticking with the team for 83 days, the Lakers waived the former Gonzaga Bulldog a day after the Lakers final preseason game on October 13th. They then re-signed him to a two-way contract on Oct. 19. While William’s career has been a roller coaster ride up to this point, he is beginning to receive consistent minutes with the Lakers.

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Williams played his high school ball at Southwind High in Memphis Tennessee, where he went on to earn all-state honors three years in a row in 2011, 2012, and 2013. After graduating, he attended Missouri University, where Jonathan was also teammates with former Laker Jordan Clarkson.

He started every game his freshman season, averaging 5.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks. Expectations were growing for Jonathan as he entered his sophomore season. Even though Jonathan suffered a small meniscus tear during an exhibition game, he went on to play 32 of 35 games that season. His numbers improved as well, putting up 11.9 points and seven rebounds per contest, despite playing with a torn meniscus.

Despite his improved numbers, Williams’ father had this to say about his son’s time with Missouri:

"“That (relationship) could have been better,” he said. “That could have been much better. You’ve got to realize, the team, they don’t stay together. The continuity wasn’t on the floor. The media saw that. The fans saw that. As parents we saw that. That was pretty tough.”"

The Memphis native would end up redshirting the 2015-2016 NCAA season per transfer rules, joining Gonzaga University for the 2016-2017 season while starting 39 games. Jonathan decided to stay for his senior season, and starting 36 of 37 games before entering the NBA draft.

Jonathan Williams also brings something with him that not even many NBA players currently have, two gold medals. Williams won a gold medal for the USA during the 2016  FIBA Americas U16, and a year later FIBA U17 World Championship.

While against the odds, being undrafted is not a death sentence for an NBA career by any stretch of the imagination. Players like Ben Wallace, John Starks, and Jeremy Lin all came into the league undrafted, but found a lane for themselves to navigate in, and ended up having fantastic NBA careers.

The time is now for Williams, who finally has some momentum going for him in his young NBA career. If he can continue to play his heart out every possession and improve each day than there is no question Luke Walton will continue to give the rookie minutes.

Every championship team needs a “Mad Dog” Mark Madsen type player off the bench, and the Lakers may have just found theirs.