Lou Williams is somehow regretting his work ethic before the draft.
The former Sixth Man of the Year recalled his journey entering the league in no shape as he was picked in the second round.
“I was just going on being naive to think, hey, look, if these guys can do it and I’m in the conversation of guys going, I want to be one of them, too. Watching that draft and my name not get called the first 30 picks, that was the first time I thought about, ‘Damn, I done made a mistake,” Williams said, via an episode of Cousins with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.
Williams said that he could have done better to be picked earlier, as he had the talent and confidence, but lacked effort on his physique.
“That was just blind confidence and blind arrogance at that time. That’s why I got picked 45, because I wasn’t in shape. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t take the workouts serious.. The talent was there. The discipline wasn’t there. The discipline wasn’t there to do the things that they needed me to do at the college level,” he added.
Despite the slow start, the 6-foot-2 guard has learned the value of discipline, and he earned the Sixth Man of the Year award three times in 2015, 2018, and 2019, sharing the all-time record with Jamal Crawford.
“The work that it takes, the discipline that it takes, some of the sacrifices, I didn’t have none of that in my system. So I figured, look, I’m going to look at this like a job. If this is a job and this is a career, if I get drafted anywhere, if I get a foot in the door, it becomes an internship to me,” Williams explained.
Williams officially announced his retirement from the NBA in June 2023 after playing 17 seasons in the league.
