Oklahoma City Thunder forward and NBA champion Jaylin Williams returned to his roots July 24, hosting his second annual youth basketball camp at Northside High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas — the same gym where he starred for the Grizzlies before his college career at Arkansas and his rise to the NBA.
The camp drew 150 kids and sold out in 40 seconds. Two sessions split by age — 6-to-9 in the morning, 10-to-14 in the afternoon — filled Northside Arena with drills and fundamentals, with former Northside coach Eric Burnett among the assistants working the floor. A second pair of camps followed Saturday at Springdale High School, free of charge.
“Anything for the kids. I want them to have an amazing time,” Williams told 40/29 News. “As a kid, you dream of things like this, and I hope that when they go back to school, they say this was their favorite thing in the summer.”
Fort Smith Mayor George McGill watched from courtside. “I know he’s exhausted, but he’s here to give back to the kids here in Fort Smith,” McGill said. “It gives people an opportunity to see what giving back actually looks like and what it feels like to be on the receiving end.”
Seven-year-old Jack Jones made the trip from Fayetteville. “Oh, I will remember this for my whole entire life,” Jones said. “I’m just really proud of Jaylin teaching all of us tonight. And I’m proud of myself for being an All-Star.”
Williams started his basketball journey at the Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club, and he made sure the campers knew it. “Walking through the gym, I walk those same steps,” he said. “I think the biggest thing is showing these kids that me and [my peers] came to these same Boys and Girls Club, the same high school, same junior highs, and same parks.”
At the inaugural camp last summer, Williams’ father Michael recalled watching his son’s face light up meeting older players — and seeing the cycle reverse. “Now the kids get to look up to him,” Michael Williams told Pig Trail Nation.