In this day and age, every professional athlete wants to have a podcast. Players want to share their side of the story and talk about their journey through sports.
Former NBA sixth-man of the year Lou Williams is on a podcast with Spank Horton called The Underground Lounge. They dissect culture, music, hoops, and news. Recently, Williams said that he was dared to slap 76ers head coach Mo Cheeks as a rookie.
Why did Lou Williams smack Mo Cheeks on the head?
In the second round of the 2005 NBA draft, the 76ers selected Lou Williams out of high school. Williams had an impressive 17-year career, in six different organizations. He was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year three times. Including back-to-back seasons in 2007-08 and 2008-09. He averaged 20+ points per game off the bench in both seasons. Recently, Williams shared a story from his rookie season with Philadelphia on his podcast, The Underground Lounge.
Coming into the NBA, Lou Williams was 18 years old and was a serious athlete. He never smoked or drank and was serious about his basketball career. Williams shared that his veteran mentors on the team were Allen Iverson and Chris Weber. He was challenged by Webber to drink three beers for $15,000. Williams noted, “$15,000 sound like $15 million at that time.”
Lou Williams accepted the challenge and drank the beers despite never drinking before. When the 76ers were on the plane that same night, Williams was offered another $15,000 to take his shirt off and slap head coach Maurice Cheeks on the head. His judgment was clearly compromised and Williams accepted the challenge. He slapped his head coach on the head but Cheeks was not upset.
Instead, Williams was deemed “the entertainment for the night.” Cheeks could only laugh when Williams slapped him on the head. He was extremely lucky to have a relaxed head coach like Cheeks who ultimately helped him walk away with $30,000.
