Flashy is not a word you want to describe a player on your team. People usually hear flashy and think the player is a showoff doing unnecessary moves that doesn\u2019t get the job done. When people hear \u201cflashy,\u201d they think of \u201call show and no go.\u201d Basketball fundamentalists cringe when they hear about a behind-the-back no look pass. They\u2019d rather see a jump stop with a solid two handed bounce pass for a nice bank shot. And that\u2019s fine. Well... not really. Being flashy is not always a bad thing. Sometimes, the only pass you can make is behind-the-back, and other times you need to throw off your defender by doing something they\u2019ve never seen. The game is meant to change and players are supposed to improve and create new moves and take advantage of the D. Innovation is part of being successful and that includes basketball. Pete Maravich and Jason Williams were some of the flashiest players to play in the NBA. \u201cPistol\u201d Pete was a man way before his time while Jason Williams added a flair to the game that no other player brought. Both were criticized for their outrageous style of plays, but both brought an elegance to the game few others will bring.<\/p>\n
Growing up as a Laker Fan, Nick Van Exel was my favorite player. However, Jason \u201cWhite Chocolate\u201d Williams was a close second. The way he played the game was not like anyone I had ever seen. J-Will strove during a time when streetball was becoming popular. His style of play brought streetball to the mainstream. Yeah, I know Rafer \u201cSkip to my Lou\u201d Alston was a streetball legend, but he wasn\u2019t doing it in the League like J-Will did during that time. Skip was still fighting for his spot on NBA teams when J-Will was getting crowds hyped with his highlights. He threw all kinds of passes from no-look lobs to one-handed behind the head bullets. In the Rookie\/Sophomore game, he threw a behind-the-back, off-the-elbow pass. He did things that I can\u2019t even explain in words. He was always criticized for being too flashy leading to too many turnovers, which is one of the reasons why Sacramento traded him to the Grizz for Bibby. But during his prime, J-Will was one of the most exciting players to watch because no one ever knew what he was going to do next.<\/p>\n