If you were to ask a basketball coach to build for him the modern player, who meets his requirements perfectly and provides a diverse basket of tools on both sides of the court, Derrick Williams' name would probably be mentioned at the top of the list, next to the senior players.
On paper, the 31-year-old American forward should have been in other places in his career at this point, certainly in light of the expectations created after he was selected with the second pick in the 2011 draft, ahead of players who later became NBA legends such as Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler.
Williams - 2.03 m of muscles, talent and athleticism - was destined for greatness from a young age but was never able to make his mark or reach the place that was his goal, and moved to no less than 12 teams in an 11-year professional career in Europe and the best league in the world.
"The problem with Derrick was never the talent or the attitude, he was always talented and never afraid of hard work," says a source close to the actor.
"Derrick was marked from a young age as a great promise, and as such great weights of pressure and expectations were placed on his shoulders that he was never able to cope with."
A professional in European basketball who worked with the forward in the past tried to shed some light on the situation: "The professional problem with Derrick was his style of play. He never got along in the number 3 position because he wasn't fast enough in defense but he also wasn't big and physical enough to guard big and muscular forwards from him, but the raw talent and athletic ability cannot be taken away from him, in these categories he is one of the best in Europe."
Williams tries to stop James in the game against Monaco, photo: EPA
"Expectations do not match character"
Although he changed teams a lot throughout his career, players who played alongside him do not indicate a problem in his character but present a different point of view.
"Derrick is a great person. Despite what one might think of a player in his position, who has made millions of dollars throughout his career, he is a relatively quiet person in the dressing room and has never caused problems. The problem with him was the expectations that never matched his character," a player told "Israel Hayom" who played alongside him.
"There are two types of players - stars who lead the team, or complementary players. Derrick is by nature a complementary player, but he was always expected to lead, and in this situation he struggled and didn't manage. There are players who lift the team when it is on its way down, and there are players who sink when the team sinks - And that's how Derrick is, he's just not the leader they expected him to be because that's not his character," a close associate of the player told Israel Hayom.
Struggling with Yabosla from Real Madrid, photo: EPA
Williams' numbers throughout his career prove the claim that his best season in his European career was recorded at the ambitious Bayern Munich, compared to less successful seasons at Maccabi Tel Aviv or the stressed Fenerbahce.
In the past season in the yellow uniform, the story was no different from the pattern of action throughout his career.
Alongside big record matches at the Hafis Arena in Jerusalem or at the drive-in against Hapoel Tel Aviv, the forward had difficulty maintaining stability and was unable to stop the team's collapse in a season that ended without a title in Eliyahu's hands.
Williams vs. Sussman in the match against Elba, photo: EPA
Even after an 11-year career Derrick Williams was and remains an enigma.
Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde he can star on a given night and win games on his own, only to disappear for whole minutes multiple games later.
Which Derrick Williams will Maccabi Tel Aviv meet tonight? She probably doesn't know the answer either.
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