Over the course of his 17-year-long NBA career, Lou Williams has experienced a great many things. However, none may have come close to the experience of nearly being robbed at gunpoint on Christmas Eve.
Having played for the Philadelphia 76ers early in his career, Lou Williams was proud of having a good reputation with the fan base. On a recent episode of the “Out The Mud Podcast,” Williams recalled how vital this was while revisiting an infamous incident from 2011.
“I was in North Philly, and he just caught me. He caught me slippin’,” Williams began. “I was on my phone. He walked up on me and told me, ‘Get out the car.’ And my stupid a–, instead of getting out the car, I rolled my window down, which ended up saving my life.”
“When I rolled the window down, he looked at my face and he said, ‘Lou Will, I can’t even do it to you, man.'” he continued. “He said, ‘What you’ve done for the community.’ And I was right there in North Philly. Me and Meek used to do coat and glove drives.”
Lou Williams revealed that he and his teammate, Jodie Meeks, would take pickup trucks, go to a clothing factory, buy as many coats, hats, and other clothing items as they could, and hand them out in the community.
“He told me, ‘Man, I just got out of jail. I got a bus ticket, and I’ve got a gun, and I’m trying to figure it out,'” Williams recalled. “I said, ‘I’ve got no cash on me, man. But if you meet me across the street at that McDonald’s, I’ll buy you anything you want to eat.”
“He took off running to the McDonald’s. So I had to make a decision: Take off on his a– or be a man of my word. So, I pulled up to the McDonald’s, bought the homie some food, and got up out of there.”
Although Lou Williams added that the story has been altered by others since the original retelling, he admitted that the incident involved a simple conversation and meal with the individual who attempted to rob him.
Williams’ charitable nature and humanitarian work are certainly commendable. Given that it practically saved his life back in 2011, it is abundantly clear that his small acts of kindness went a long way in boosting his reputation within the community.
Lou Williams spent seven years with the Philadelphia 76ers, the longest he spent with any franchise over his NBA career. During this time, Williams asserted himself as a key rotation piece and a perennial Sixth Man of the Year award candidate.
With averages of 11.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game during his time with the 76ers, Williams was a dependable player. After the 2011-12 season, when he finished second in the 6MOY race, Williams signed with the Atlanta Hawks, bidding farewell to the City of Brotherly Love.
