How did Jason Williams get the nickname 'White Chocolate'? Tracing the origins of one of NBA's most unique monikers

Jason Williams was selected seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 1998 NBA Draft. He ended up playing three seasons for the organization. In his three seasons with the Kings, he dazzled fans with his electrifying performance from assists to scoring. Williams incorporated his streetball-like style of play in his games as it proved effective on the court.

Jason's popularity back in the day earned him the nickname "White Chocolate." The nickname was given to him by Stephanie Shepard, a media relations assistant. She explained the reasoning behind the moniker, as per The New York Times by Mark Wise.

"I came up with that name because of his style," Shepard said. "He has flash and pizazz. The way he does things with the ball is incredible to me. It reminds me of, like, schoolyard street ball when I go to Chicago."

"With the exception of some footage I've seen of Pistol Pete Maravich, I've never seen any white kid play Jason," Shepard added. "John Stockton is wonderful in his way. But Jason is like every kid I've seen on the playground."

Meanwhile, the Kings player mentioned in Kevin Garnett's "Area 21" his thoughts on the given nickname.

"I think somebody in the Sacramento PR department gave it to me," Williams said. "It didn't bother me at all. When you look at the game, it's what's between the lines. All the white, black -- that's out the door."

"If you can hoop, you can hoop," Williams added. "I just want to play ball. And whatever they going to talk about they going talk about, I will keep doing my thing."

During his time playing in Sacramento, Jason Williams averaged 11.3 points per game (38.4% shooting, including 30.1% from 3-point range) and 6.3 assists.

Looking back, his nickname has become a fan-favorite as it matched his style of play on the court along with how fans reacted to his presence in the league.

Jason Williams, a.k.a. White Chocolate, talks about playing in today's NBA

In a One Sports article written by Gab Mallari, the former NBA player talked about how he would be able to fit in today's NBA.

"I think I would be okay in today's game," Williams said. "It would be tough for me to score 25, 30 points like these guards today because I'm not looking to score and shoot the ball like that. But definitely, the way these guys shoot the ball today, I think I could average whatever amount of assists depending on the minutes that I got."

The league has drastically changed over the years with how it's played ranging from positionless players and versatile skill sets.

In his time playing in the league, Jason Williams was able to finish 13 seasons in the NBA while being part of four teams during his tenure in the league. He has a career average of 10.5 ppg (39.8% shooting, including 32.7% from 3-point range) and 5.9 apg.