“J-Will was a crowd pleaser and Mike was a game-dominator” – Bobby Jackson on why Mike Bibby was a better fit for the Kings than Jason Williams originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The Sacramento Kings were among the most captivating teams in the late 1990s, thanks to the dazzling plays of flamboyant point guard Jason Williams. From the moment he arrived in Sacramento as the seventh pick of the 1998 NBA Draft, J-Will hit the ground running and regularly got crowds — whether at home or on the road — off their feet.
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However, despite Williams’ entertaining style of play, there was a debate among fans and analysts about whether he was the best fit for the Kings. This was due to his tendency to make flashy plays that sometimes resulted in turnovers or ill-timed shots. In addition, although they made the playoffs in every season, Jason was with the team, the farthest they got was the second round in 2001, where they got swept by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Seeking a more reliable floor leader, the Kings traded Williams to the Memphis Grizzlies for Mike Bibby just months after their defeat to the Lakers. Bobby Jackson, a key reserve for the powerhouse Sacramento teams of the early 2000s, recalled that head coach Rick Adelman recognized the need for a traditional point guard to fully unlock the potential of their star-studded roster. With talents like power forward Chris Webber, center Vlade Divac, and sharpshooting forward Peja Stojakovic leading the charge, the team found its solution in Bibby.
J-Will took too many risks
Williams was one of the most electrifying point guards the NBA had seen since Pistol Pete Maravich. A showstopper of the highest order, he sent crowds into a frenzy with his flashy ball-handling, circus shots, and no-look passes. However, for all of Jason’s highlight-reel plays, he was also known for taking too many risks on the court. This often resulted in balls sailing out of bounds and highly questionable shots, causing frustration, especially from Adelman.
“Jason was extremely talented, and he was a risk-taker. I mean, extremely a risk-taker with his flashy passes and his ability to get the crowd on their feet,” Bobby recalled. “Like, I ain’t never seen one person electrify the crowds like he did. Now, because he was that risk-taker, it kind of drove Rick kind of crazy, you know.”
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“I think Rick lost some hair. He lost some hair,” he added. “So Rick was like, ‘S—t, I got to get me a point guard that f—ng knows how to run the team, that’s going to be solid, he going to make the right pass, and he gonna give me 20 points a night.'”
Mike was the right guy
After getting selected second by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the same draft class as J-Will, Bib was stuck playing for a team that wasn’t going anywhere. Although he put up stellar numbers of 14.7 points and 7.8 assists during his time there, Bibby became a forgotten man in Vancouver, where the team struggled to draw attendance. However, everything changed when he was traded to the Kings.
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In his first season in Sac-Town, Mike led the team to a franchise-best 61-21 record and the Pacific Division title, averaging 13.7 points on 45 percent shooting and 5.0 dimes per game.
“And then Mike comes in. You got this point guard that knows how to settle everybody down, and he knows how to get the ball to the right guys in the right spots, and he’s not flashy, right? And I think that was the difference between those two guys,” Jackson explained. “J-Will was a crowd-pleaser. And Mike, like, he was a game dominator. Like, he controlled the game in every aspect of the game.”
Bibby and the Kings eventually pushed the Lakers to seven games in the 2002 West Finals, and if it had not been for some questionable officiating in Game 6, they might have been able to reach the Finals and potentially become the world champs.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.