Who is Vince Williams Jr.? Grizzlies wing finally gets his chance to shine

When Martin Luther King Jr Day rolls around, you can count on the Memphis Grizzlies having a marquee matchup — it's been a symbolic gesture for the league to hold a game there since it's the city where King Jr. was killed. Heading into this season, their matchup looked good on paper -- a 2022 Playoffs rematch and one of the main (and only) real rivalries in the NBA -- but was heavily impacted by injuries for the Grizzlies and the Warriors struggling.

Yet, in a game that featured the return of Draymond Green, a Warriors starting lineup change, and Stephen Curry continuing his remarkable season, the two players who stood out in leading their team to a win were two who weren't in the rotation to start the season — Vince Williams Jr and GG Jackson.

Jackson's case is understandable, as he was a second-round pick this season coming off one inefficient season at South Carolina, and joined a deep roster as the youngest player in the league. He started getting more playing time as the injuries for Memphis have piled on, and that will continue. Williams Jr.'s case, on the other hand, is far more compelling...

Vince Williams Jr.'s path, like many, wasn't a straight line

As a part of the 2022 NBA Draft, Williams Jr. was selected two picks later (15th in the second round) than Jackson was in this year's draft. However, his journey to the league wasn't as linear: he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder before his freshman season at VCU, and then tore his right labrum the following year, which led to ok-at-best play in his first two seasons.

In his last two seasons, though, he was one of the team's best players — a consistent starter who shot well and scored in double figures. But that didn't initially translate to the NBA in a deep playoff-bound Grizzlies team, as he only played an average of seven minutes in 15 games. And that number was inflated by the last game of the season, where Memphis rested everyone and he played 48 minutes, scoring 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting from the field and 1-of-14 from 3 (more on this later). Before that, he only played over five minutes three times.

Even this season, he wasn't playing much in Memphis' first four games, cracking the rotation because of injuries in the fifth game of the season. And, even then, he only was inserted into the starting lineup on Dec. 13 at Houston with Desmond Bane being out (illness). But he has stayed there because of good spacing and tenacious defense. The latest example of that was his stellar outing yesterday, scoring 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting (3-of-6 from 3, 9-of-10 from the foul line) with two steals and a block.

He's been one of the main contributors to the team's success (to the degree they've had any), due to his much-improved shooting. After shooting just 14 percent (9.1 percent on corner 3s) from 3 last season on 1.9 attempts, this season he's at 34.8 percent (32.7 percent on corner 3s) from 3. He can attack closeouts and doesn't just stand still on offense. That much is proven by him being one of the few positives in a tough season for the Grizzlies.

Furthermore, when Morant returned and the team had a brief stretch where there was hope for them bouncing back to make the playoffs, Williams Jr. was a big key in their resurgence: the starting trio of Morant, Bane and Williams Jr had a plus-1.18 net rating in 83 minutes together, and the duo of Williams Jr and Morant had a plus-19 net rating (121 offensive rating, 102 defensive rating) in a 48-minute sample.

He wasn't tasked with doing much on offense, as he just averaged 5.5 points on 5.3 shots per game on the team's four-game winning streak when Morant returned, but was tasked with guarding the best opposing perimeter player and hounding them all game while playing 32.9 minutes. With him being a two-way player out of the draft, he was only going to be limited to playing 50 games before Memphis had to decide if they wanted to convert him to a standard contract or keep him in the G-League. Williams Jr made the decision for them with his play, and he was rewarded with a three-year, $7.9 million deal, the most a player on a two-way deal has received in NBA history.

That's a great value for a player that has shown potential to be an All-Defense caliber defender in the next couple of seasons. To close this one, though, as he displayed against the Warriors, he'll be able to show his complete repertoire on offense on a team that's probably not going to do much the rest of the way. But, rest assured, he'll continue to be a big piece whenever the Grizzlies are able to contend again.