Former NBA point guard Jason Williams yesterday encouraged basketball players in Taiwan to work on building their stamina so they can give their best in an upcoming three-on-three tournament.
Williams in a videoconference from Florida said that three-on-three games are more physically demanding than five-on-five because of the running involved.
“With five-on-five there are more people on the floor and that creates less room to operate, whereas for three-on-three, your one-on-one defense has to be really good because after one or two dribbles, people are going to be at the rim scoring,” said Williams, who played 12 seasons in the NBA.
Photo: Lin Yueh-fu, Taipei Times
In three-on-three games, players need to be quick and agile to be able to play effective defense, because each team lacks two players, Williams said in the promotional videoconference with Taiwanese media.
“For the young hoopers over in Taiwan who are going to do the three-on-three, you’d better get in shape and get ready to play,” he said ahead of the Cathay NBA 3X 2020 tournament that starts on Saturday.
Williams was known for his behind-the-back and no-look passes during his career, which included winning the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat against the Dallas Mavericks in 2006.
He said the dream of every player is to win a tournament and that he was no exception.
“In my opinion, as a player, that’s the only thing you play for, and that is to win a championship,” Williams said. “There were so many naysayers saying that I would never be a part of something like that and to be able to achieve that goal was the most precious moment in my life, as pertaining to sports.”
In addition, basketball has allowed him to travel all over the world and to learn how to interact with others, because it is not a one-on-one sport, he said.
“Without basketball I wouldn’t be sitting here with you guys in Taiwan from over the other side of the world,” Williams said.
The Cathay NBA 3X 2020, hosted by NBA Taiwan and sponsored by Cathay Financial Holdings, is to begin with preliminaries in Taichung at the weekend, before moving on to Taoyuan on July 18 and 19, Taipei on July 25 and 26, and Kaohsiung on Aug. 2.
The top 40 teams that emerge are to face off in the finals in Taipei on Aug. 22 and 23.
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