Lou Williams was the man of the LA Clippers locker room during two difficult seasons in which the team transitioned out of their best players — first Blake Griffin and later DeAndre Jordan and Tobias Harris. Those scenarios would have likely put any other team in automatic rebuild mode, but the Clippers surged thanks to Williams' talent scoring and playmaking, giving fans more than mere ounces of hope and instantly becoming a favorite.
The arrival of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have now shrunk his status with the team, despite coming off swiping back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year awards, tying former Clipper Jamal Crawford with three apiece.
Now entering his 15th season in the league, Williams says he knew his rousing impact would come to an end sooner or later.
“I don’t really care, and I think that’s what I need people to understand,” Williams told Joe Vardon of The Athletic as he walked, talked and signed basketballs.
“At the end of the day, I am a sixth man, I am a backup. No matter how much you dress it up, no matter how much history I’ve made, no matter how many special things I’ve done off the bench, I’m still a backup and I understand that to the core of me.”
Williams wasn't just any backup, the 6-foot-1 dynamo averaged career-highs with the Clippers, trotting out a whopping 22.6 points per game in 2018-19 and 20.0 points per game this season, along with a team-leading 5.4 assists.
The scoring fiend might no longer be the man in town, but he will play a key part in keeping the Clippers' bench as one of the most dangerous ones in the entire league.
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