With the NBA G League season completed in late March, Lucas Williamson’s mind was locked in on coaching.
Following his fourth G League season, the local star, who led Whitney Young to a state championship in 2017 and was instrumental in helping Loyola to the Final Four in 2018, was set to coach his former high school travel team, Meanstreets, on Nike’s EYBL circuit.
Williamson flew home from his final G League game with the Windy City Bulls on Mar. 28. The next day he packed up his hotel room where he had been staying in Schaumburg, jumped in his car and was driving home to Chicago when his agent called.
“I answered the phone and he said to me, ‘I don’t want to get your hopes up, but there is a chance you will be getting called up to the [Memphis] Grizzlies,’” Williamson said his agent told him.
Williamson paused, asked his agent if he was serious, and then said if there was a legitimate chance, he would be heading straight to the gym to make sure he was ready if the call came. Off to the gym he went to get a workout in.
“At the time I was thinking about taking two weeks off of basketball, focusing completely on the coaching because we had a tournament the next weekend,” Williamson said of his Meanstreets schedule. “That was the mindset I was in — full coaching mode.”
But two days after that call from his agent he was back on a plane, headed to Memphis, set to make his NBA debut against the New York Knicks.
“It was surreal,” Williamson said of the NBA call-up. “I think it was surreal, not because of who I was looking at on the floor or who I was playing with or against. It was more so knowing my journey. The red carpet wasn’t rolled out for me. I knew it wouldn’t be. I was expecting my path to be hard. But I wasn’t expecting it to be this hard.”
In the previous three seasons, Williamson suffered season-ending injuries in two of them. The one that ended his 2024-25 season led him to question whether he was even going to continue playing basketball. But the 6-4 guard has never let hardships dictate his path.
Early on in his career it was easy to identify how Williamson would handle adversity. His former high school coach, Tyrone Slaughter, recognized quickly how his bright, young player was never self-absorbed. Slaughter says he never heard Williamson complain and that he was never afraid of the work, always doing so without any promises given to him.
“There was no job too small or too big for him,” said his former high school coach Tyrone Slaughter. “So when you talk about going through the G League and staying with it after injuries and not giving up — and I”m sure there were times where he may have wanted to give up — he leaned back into what he always has been. He leaned into his willingness to work hard.”
Following his highly-successful high school career, Loyola head coach Drew Valentine witnessed Williamson’s perseverance firsthand. He coached Williamson for five seasons — first as an assistant and then as the head coach after taking over for Porter Moser.
“Ever since I met Lucas he’s been a person who has just been incredibly process oriented,” Valentine said. “Most people, especially nowadays, want instant gratification, instant microwavable success. For him, everything has been step by step and process-driven. He’s never allowed adversity to get in the way of his process or the belief he has in himself.”
Williamson took a step back last summer and sat down with his agent to discuss his future. He came to the conclusion that he didn’t want to be 50 or 60 years old and wake up wondering if he pulled the plug too quickly on his career.
“I believed I still had the tools that impact winning,” Williams said. “I have an immense belief and confidence in myself of what I can bring to a team. I decided to go back to the G League.”
The grind of being a basketball vagabond in the NBA G League is a chore to navigate.
This past season, he admits, was not one of his better ones. His shooting numbers were down. He didn’t see eye-to-eye with his Memphis Hustle coach, which included a couple of self-described “run-ins,” before he was traded. His confidence had slipped.
“There is a lot that comes with it,” Williamson said of playing in the G League. “There is an immense mental load you’re dealing with in the G League. The G officially stands for Gatorade, but the G really stands for the grind. I was struggling.”
The trade to the Windy City Bulls from the Memphis Hustle was a blessing. He was soon playing more minutes, finally getting into a rhythm, and the confidence returned. With the confidence, along with all the winning attributes he brings to a team, there was a bit of a mini, late-season renaissance for Williamson.
“The hope is, the thing that keeps you going, is that you are one call away from your dream,” Williamson said of playing in the G League.
Williamson scored two points in eight minutes in that NBA debut against the Knicks. Overall, in the seven games with Memphis to close the season, he averaged a whopping 32 minutes a game while putting up 10.4 points a game.
Williamson said all he was concerned about was focusing on the opportunity that was given and to try and take advantage of it. He was of the belief that he simply needed to go out and perform and then let other people — coaches, scouts, front offices — do their job in seeing the value he brings.
But he also made sure to appreciate the experience, knowing how unparalleled of a basketball opportunity this was for him.
“I looked at it as this is special and I am taking in every single moment,” Williamson said of his two weeks in the NBA. “Being one of less than 5,000 players to have ever played in the NBA is super humbling.”
While he waits to see what happens next in his playing career, hoping his brief NBA run opened eyes, Williamson is back in the gym, simultaneously training for what might be ahead for him as a player while also coaching Meanstreets’ 16U team.
Williamson said he first heard of the opportunity to coach with Meanstreets in January. He was immediately intrigued by what program director Tim Anderson, who coached Williamson during his own Meanstreets days, had to say.
“It was honestly something I couldn’t pass up and just made a lot of sense,” Williamson said. “It was a program I was a part of, and I liked the idea of doing my best in giving back what I’ve learned.”
Valentine isn’t surprised to see Williamson honing his skills as a coach.
“I’ve always viewed Lucas as someone who would be a leader of men,” Valentine said.
Williamson says he enjoys coaching. He loves the preparation and the adrenaline he gets before games. The 27-year-old will keep the door — and his mind — open to the possibility of a coaching career.
“Right now I want to pay it forward, especially with this program,” Williamson said of coaching with Meanstreets. “I wouldn’t be at Loyola if it wasn’t for Meanstreets. And if I’m not at Loyola, then none of this happens.”