Derrick Williams, the number two pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, continues his career in Europe with Valencia Basket. In his second year overseas, the 29-year-old forward had the opportunity to work with a legendary coach Zeljko Obradovic at Fenerbahce.
Being coached by a nine-time EuroLeague champion was a different experience for Williams who sees similarities between him and the Los Angeles Lakers superstar.
According to Williams, Obradovic is like LeBron James in terms of knowing everything about the game. He even called the Serbian coach the smartest person he has ever met.
“He’s an excellent coach,” Williams said of Obradovic per Nacho Losilla of NBA Spain. “He knows everything about basketball, he’s probably the smartest person I’ve ever met.
There are only two people who for me are at that level of knowing everything about the game: LeBron James and Zeljko Obradovic. They know everything about the other team, they know everything about all the players on our team. Having a coach like that makes you want to work a lot harder, so I give him a lot of credit.”
