BIO: Jason Williams was born in Adelaide (SA) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Sturt basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Jason Williams made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 22 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

After missing the playoffs in 1997, Adelaide moved on from Leon Trimmingham, Brett Wheeler, Jeff Brown, Brad McKinnon, Willie Simmons and Nathan Hawkes, while Dave Claxton was replaced after one season in charge.

The 36ers returned with Brett Maher, John Rillie, Mark Davis, Martin Cattalini, Scott Ninnis and Rupert Sapwell, while rookie coach and former player Phil Smyth took over without any head coaching experience. Smyth then added Paul Rees (via North Melbourne), Darnell Mee (via Canberra) and former NBA forward Kevin Brooks, while Sturt junior Jason Williams was added to the end of a roster that would become one of Adelaide’s deepest championship teams.

Williams (0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists across 1 game) made his NBL debut on May 29 against Wollongong, appearing for one minute in Adelaide’s 112-89 home win over the Hawks. The game would give the 22-year-old guard his first NBL minutes during a year where Adelaide recorded its most wins since 1988 and finished second with a 19-11 record.

Brooks (19.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) was for real in his first season with the 36ers, leading the team in scoring, while Maher (17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals) and Mee (14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks) supplied the additional punch and defensive edge. Cattalini (15.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists), Rillie (9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists), Davis (9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds), Rees (7.4 points and 5.1 rebounds), Sapwell (6.1 points), and Ninnis (5.4 points) formed the rotation that kept Williams on the fringe of the lineup as Adelaide moved into the playoffs.

Williams did not appear in any playoff games as Smyth tightened the rotation around the veterans and imports.

The semifinal series opened at Challenge Stadium, where Adelaide delivered a 114-97 punch to Perth behind Maher (36 points and 6 assists) and Mee (16 points and 14 rebounds), with Maher shooting 7-of-11 from three-point range and setting up a 1-0 lead.

Game two moved to Adelaide, where the 36ers defeated Perth 117-110 to complete the sweep and set up a Grand Final matchup with South East Melbourne.

Adelaide was not expected to defeat the Brian Goorjian led Magic, who had compiled a 26-4 regular-season record and swept Brisbane in the semifinals, but game one saw Brooks (24 points and 8 rebounds) lead the 36ers to a 100-93 win at the Powerhouse.

Game two moved to Melbourne Park, where Adelaide obliterated the Magic 90-62, holding South East Melbourne under 15 points in three quarters, with Brooks (21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks) and Cattalini (20 points and 6 rebounds) leading the 36ers, while Brett Wheeler (12 points) and Tony Ronaldson (11 points) were best for the Magic. Adelaide collected their first NBL championship since 1986, and Kevin Brooks was named Grand Final MVP in what was the last winter season for the National Basketball League.

1998/99
After making his NBL debut during Adelaide’s 1998 championship season, Jason Williams returned as the league moved into its first summer campaign. John Rillie (to West Sydney) and Dean Brogan (to Newcastle) departed, while Scott Ninnis (retired) joined Phil Smyth’s coaching staff.

Captain Brett Maher, Kevin Brooks, Darnell Mee, Martin Cattalini, Mark Davis, Paul Rees, Rupert Sapwell, Paul Bauer and Williams returned from the championship roster, while David Stiff (via North Melbourne) was Adelaide’s major addition.

Williams (1.1 points across 13 games) remained at the end of Adelaide’s experienced backcourt rotation behind Maher, Mee and Bauer, receiving 45 minutes across the entire season while making four of his 10 three-point attempts. No injury was confirmed during the campaign.

Williams’ best scoring game came against Wollongong at Adelaide Arena on October 31, where he made two three-pointers and finished with 6 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists as Adelaide defeated the Hawks 109-72. Maher (25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) and Cattalini (20 points and 11 rebounds) led the 36ers, while Clayton Ritter (20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals) was Wollongong’s best.

He later scored 2 points with 1 rebound and 1 assist in Adelaide’s 115-82 road victory over Sydney on December 16, making his only field-goal attempt as Cattalini (26 points and 8 rebounds) and Davis (24 points and 5 rebounds) led the 36ers, while Acie Earl (29 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks) was Sydney’s best.

Adelaide recovered from a 2-4 start by winning nine of its final 10 regular-season games, finishing first with an 18-8 record and claiming its first minor premiership since 1988.

Williams returned to the court during game two of the qualifying finals, making his only shot for 3 points and adding 1 block as Adelaide defeated Perth 97-80 and completed the two-game sweep.

He was not used during Adelaide’s semifinal sweep of Wollongong or the opening two Grand Final games against Victoria, but entered for the final 33 seconds of the deciding game as the 36ers defeated the Titans 80-69. Cattalini (19 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks), Maher (15 points and 7 rebounds), Brooks (13 points and 6 rebounds) and Sapwell (13 points) led Adelaide, while Ben Pepper (15 points) and Tony Ronaldson (15 points) led Victoria as Williams collected his second NBL championship.

1999/00
Coming off back-to-back championships, Adelaide lost Kevin Brooks (to Sydney) after the NBL reduced the salary cap by $70,000 to $625,000, leaving the 36ers unable to re-sign him after adding Paul Maley (via Victoria) only weeks earlier.

Captain Brett Maher, Darnell Mee, Martin Cattalini, Mark Davis, David Stiff, Paul Rees and Rupert Sapwell all returned under coach Phil Smyth, with the high-scoring forward remaining after initially agreeing to play for ASVEL Villeurbanne in France before backflipping and re-signing in the hopes that a big year would result in selection for the Sydney Olympics.

Jason Williams (14 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists) delivered his first major performance on 27 November against Melbourne, hitting 3-of-7 from three and all three free throws as Adelaide fell 100-90, easily surpassing his previous career-high of six points.

Williams (2.7 points across 20 games) moved into a larger reserve role in his third season, providing spot minutes behind Adelaide’s experienced guards while shooting 36% from three.

On 3 December, Williams (3 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal) made one three-pointer in Adelaide’s 111-86 win over Canberra, giving him another scoring opportunity as the 36ers controlled the contest.

His best game of the season came on 3 March in Adelaide’s 129-75 win at Cairns, where Williams (15 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist) shot 5-of-9 from the field, 3-of-5 from three and 2-of-2 at the line, setting a new career-high and recording his first double-figure scoring game in a 36ers win.

Adelaide closed the regular season on 11 March with a 93-85 win over West Sydney, where Williams (3 points and 1 assist) made his only field goal from three as the 36ers secured the minor premiership with a 22-6 record after finishing level with Townsville and Perth and winning the tiebreaker on for-and-against.

Cattalini (20.3 points and 7.5 rebounds) and Maher (20.2 points and 4.3 rebounds) led Adelaide in scoring, while Mee (13.6 points, 7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks) again filled almost every category on the stat sheet.

Stiff (13.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.4 blocks), Maley (12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds) and Davis (8.2 points and 5.3 rebounds) rounded out the other key contributors, with Maley’s recurring back injury seeing Stiff move into the starting lineup for parts of the season.

Maher was selected to the All-NBL First Team, while Mee was awarded the NBL Best Defensive Player and Maher and Cattalini were later selected to represent Australia at the Sydney Olympics.

Adelaide’s first-place finish earned a first-round bye before the 36ers faced the Victoria Titans and a Brian Goorjian led team for the third year in a row.

Victoria opened the semifinals in Melbourne with a 101-86 win behind Ronaldson (26 points and 5 rebounds), while Adelaide was held to 86 points as the Titans took control of the series.

Game two moved to Adelaide, where Cattalini (24 points and 7 rebounds) and Mee (22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals) led the 36ers, while Drmic (14 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Smith (13 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists) were best for Victoria as Adelaide won 95-72 to even the series.

Coming off the bench, Williams (0 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists) appeared briefly as Adelaide forced a deciding game.

Game three stayed in Adelaide, where McDonald (24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) led Victoria, while Mee (22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) was Adelaide’s best before the remaining 36ers struggled to score through the impenetrable Titans defence, with Victoria winning the decider 93-89.

Jason Williams played eight seasons the Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 5 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 166 NBL games.