The Dallas Mavericks need some positivity right now.
In the span of a few weeks, they’ve lost nearly everything dear to them. Now they’re fighting and clawing for play-in basketball. The light at the end of the tunnel couldn’t be dimmer at the moment.
Enter Brandon Williams.
Williams has been thrust into an expanded role following Kyrie Irving‘s season-ending injury and has taken advantage of the opportunity. In the two starts and six games played since Irving was injured, he’s turned heads amongst the Maverick faithful.
Let’s take a look at who Brandon Williams is and how he got here:
Brandon Williams Before the Big Stage
Born on Nov. 22, 1999, Brandon Williams was a basketball junkie from the get-go.
He was so in love with the game his family would have to drag him into the house at night because he wouldn’t stop playing.
Williams played his high school ball at Crespi Carmelite, a Catholic school located in Encino, CA. He contributed to state titles as a freshman and sophomore but was sidelined his junior year due to a knee injury.
That didn’t stop teams from feverishly trying to recruit Williams. He eventually committed to Arizona, one of the best college programs in the country.
Williams only played one year at Arizona, a year that saw him average 11.4 points on 37/31/81 shooting splits, finishing as the team’s leading scorer. The next year he underwent knee surgery and missed the entire season.
Then the world came crashing down via the COVID-19 pandemic. Williams took the 2020-21 season to get ready for the NBA draft, but he wouldn’t hear his name called that night.
Fortunately for Williams, that’s not where his basketball journey would end.
The Big Leagues
The G League’s Westchester Knicks picked Brandon Williams up in October of 2021.
He played alongside guys like Miles McBride for a few months, averaging 17.7 points in a 10-game sample. His NBA dream finally became a reality on Dec. 10, 2021, when the Portland Trail Blazers signed him to a 10-day contract. Williams played his first game on Dec. 27, scoring seven points, making all his shots, and finishing with a +/- of +14.
The opponent in that first game, funny enough? The Dallas Mavericks.
Williams played one more NBA game before returning to the G League with the Knicks, where he stayed for about a month. He received another contract, a two-way this time, with the Blazers on Feb. 22, 2022. That season, in his first long-term NBA stint, he put in some impressive performances including back-to-back 20-point outings against the Timberwolves and a 25-point night against the Thunder.
Williams stayed in the G League, staying with the College Park Skyhawks, for the remainder of 2022. After almost a year, the Magic signed Williams, only to cut him again a month later. He finally arrived in Dallas via a two-way on Dec. 28, 2023, where he’s been ever since.
By all accounts, Dallas has given him a home.
A Star Comes To Life
Brandon Williams is the light at the end of a pitch-black Maverick tunnel.
Williams has averaged 18.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists with only 1.7 turnovers per game in his six appearances in March. He’s putting these numbers up efficiently as well— 56.8% from the field and 90.9% from the line.
Historically, Williams has not been a great shooter from behind the arc. His collegiate struggles in that regard are well-documented. He shot under 30% from three as a Blazer. In the few minutes he got last season, Williams shot a dismal 20%. Perhaps there was an underlying issue — he shot 36.3% from three in the G League — but he remains a willing and at-times capable three-point shooter.
Williams is shooting well, scoring nearly 20 points a night, and holding on to the ball.
Most of all, he’s giving Maverick fans something to cheer on in bleak times. Who knows, if the Mavericks cling to the No. 10 seed in the West, Brandon Williams could find himself playing playoff basketball.
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