Between pro basketball stops, former Gonzaga standout Johnathan Williams drops by for Bulldogs’ win over Portland
Johnathan Williams is still trying to figure out which part of the globe he’ll be able to call home next season, but the former Gonzaga forward was more than comfortable Wednesday night back at a place he called home for the final three years of a decorated college basketball career.
Williams, as he put it during halftime of Gonzaga’s 96-64 win over Portland on Wednesday at the McCarthey Athletic Center, is “between jobs” at the moment.
What does that look like for a professional basketball player whose career has taken him to three continents and seven countries?
“(We’re) still working on it, just waiting on my agent to hit me back,” Williams, affectionately known as “J3,” said from the fourth row of the Kennel. “Then we’ll talk about it and make a decision.”
The 28-year-old recently finished his sixth professional season with Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association. Williams averaged 24.5 points per game, 16.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 blocks in 17 games last season – leading his team in all four categories, according to Asia-Basket – and helped Phoenix Super LPG advance to the PBA semifinals.
“I had a great experience out there and had an awesome coach,” Williams said.
“They love basketball. Everywhere you go, they just love being around athletes. Especially former NBA players. It was a great time.
“The Filipino players are very talented. My teammates were very talented, they were easy to play with, they know the game very, very well. They’re very, very talented players.”
After helping the 2017-18 Zags reach the Elite Eight, Williams was signed by the Los Angeles Lakers as an undrafted agent, making 24 appearances with the Lakers and 36 more with their G League team, the South Bay Lakers.
Williams signed with the Washington Wizards in 2019-20, playing in six NBA games and 16 with the G League Capital City Go-Go.
Since then, the former Zag’s world travels as a pro hooper have included stints in Israel with Maccabi Rishon LeZion, Turkey with Galatasaray, Germany with Niners Chemnitz, Italy with Dolomiti Energia Trento, Japan with Fighting Eagles Nagoya and most recently, the Philippines.{span class=”print_trim”}
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“It’s been awesome, man,” Williams said. “It’s been a blessing, being able to see different cultures, eat different food, meet a lot of different people and have a lot of great teammates. It’s been awesome.”
Williams hasn’t necessarily had a favorite pit stop on his world tour, but has enjoyed each of the destinations for different reasons.
“I’d say Italy has the best food, Japan has the best shopping and Philippines is an easy way of living because everybody speaks English,” he said.
Williams said he developed an affinity for risotto during his year in Trentino, a province based in the northern region of Italy.
“I’d never had risotto until I went to Italy,” he said.
Though Williams was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and only spent a fraction of his playing career at Gonzaga after transferring from Missouri, trips back to the Pacific Northwest are fairly frequent for the former two-time All-West Coast Conference forward.
His brother, Johnny, still resides in Spokane with his wife Jamie and their two children, Jett and Jade – all of whom joined Johnathan at the Kennel for Wednesday’s game.
”All J’s,” Johnny laughed.
Williams started in all 39 games while helping the 2016-17 Zags reach the school’s first national championship game, averaging 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds.
The standout forward visited his former Gonzaga coaches and ex-teammate Zach Norvell Jr. – now a member of Mark Few’s staff – during the team’s pregame shootaround Wednesday afternoon.
Williams still keeps in touch with Few and expressed his gratitude for the longtime GU coach who recently surpassed 700 career wins.
”He’s always been a great guy on and off the court,” Williams said. “He taught me many things about life, so I’m happy to see him continue to do it.”