A five-star recruit during his high school years, Brandon Williams found himself frequently falling prey to injuries. However, it never stopped him from pursuing – hard at that – his goal – the NBA. While not a guaranteed place in the league for the foreseeable future, it was a start. The 24-year-old point guard is back at Dallas for a second stint.

Part of the 2023-24 Mavs squad (two-way contract), Williams found himself called upon due to injuries to franchise superstars, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. And it seems like what they saw, they liked, considering Dallas signed Brandon Williams to yet another two-way contract worth $350,668.

Of course, given the depth of the Mavs squad, the chances of the ex-Arizona product will likely come off the bench. However, if he can impress in those moments, there’s no doubt that Williams can finally realize his dream. Because the one thing the kid does not lack at all is determination!

Part of the high school class of 2018, Williams nearly missed an entire calendar year because of surgery to repair a joint condition – osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). It can either be the result of high-impact sports or genetics. So basically, it causes bone and cartilage to break free from the bone end due to a lack of adequate blood supply, resulting in restricted motion and pain.

Yup! It’s enough for those affected with OCD to be careful or reconsider their choices. But not Brandon. It flared up during his freshman season at UA and he missed six games. It required another surgery, which again saw him rehabilitating for the 2019-20 season with the Wildcats. Following this, he decided to leave Arizona in 2020 and focus on preparing for the NBA Draft.

First step into the NBA … or not

Unfortunately, he went undrafted on the 2021 Draft Night. The G League drafts also passed the bright-eyed youngster from Los Angeles, California. For Brandon Williams, though, it wasn’t the end, just one of the many obstacles he knew he would face in his journey to the NBA. Not too long after this, the 6’1 guard joined the Westchester Knicks, where he played heavy minutes, even if it was just for 10 games.

Williams averaged 31.1 minutes per game, scoring 17.7 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.2 rebounds on 36.4% shooting from the field and a humble 27.8% from the three. It was followed by a 10-day contract with the Blazers in December 2021. Later in the season, Portland invited Brandon again, this time on a two-way contract that would extend to the 2022-23 season. This was it! He might finally just get a permanent spot. Alas, Williams was waived in October 2022 after signing him in mid-February of the same year.

“I’m not sure what happened,” he admitted. “They got a few bigs and needed some depth on that end. But it was understandable. It’s a business.” This was Brandon Williams. No matter what hit him, Williams always looked ahead rather than wondering about the whys and hows.

Williams’ journey to Dallas

After the unceremonious exit from the Blazers, Brandon quickly made his move and got a place in the Atlanta Hawks’ G League franchise. His 40-point performance against the Birmingham Squadrons led to an invitation to Minnesota’s Summer League. And once again, his 17.2 points on 52.2% shooting from the field and  31.3% from downtown ended in an Exhibit 10 contract for Orlando’s training camp.

By then, Williams had a long line of overseas suitors asking for his services. However, he just couldn’t bring himself to leave when he was so close to the NBA. “I got a whole bunch of offers from going overseas for sure, but I knew that a lot of NBA teams were interested in me, and not just one team here or one team there,” Brandon said.

His 13 games with the Lakeland Magic last season certainly “interested” the Dallas Mavericks. But they already had their eye on the young guard for some time now. Dallas had, in fact, invited Williams to a minicamp before the Summer League. Coupled with his performance with Lakeland and the “solid showing” at the minicamp landed him at the ‘Big D’.

And as we mentioned above, he has now re-signed with the Mavs – a team that made the NBA Finals last year, bent on bringing that second title this year with a lethal trio of Doncic-Irving-PG. If he plays his cards right, Brandon Williams might just find himself part of a serious championship contender. And perhaps a permanent place.

Even if it doesn’t, we know by now that it’s not going to deter him from pursuing his goal. “I feel I’ve got a lot of basketball left in me. There’s a lot of things I need to learn, lot of things I need to get better at …  That’s what makes me excited.”

 Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.