James Williams is a veteran referee who has officiated twelve NBA seasons. But we’ve never seen him do anything quite like this.
Williams, who is known around the league as Gucci Ref because he bares a striking physical likeness to the rapper Gucci Mane, had a little bit of fun at Vivint Arena in Utah.
During the recent game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, between the third and fourth quarter, Williams borrowed the four-wheeled ATV typically used by Utah’s mascot Jazz Bear. He high-fived fans before getting back to his duties as an official.
Here is how the bizarre scene played out at the NBA arena last week:
GUCCI REF OUT HERE VIBING 😂 pic.twitter.com/GxtAK4wlsm
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 25, 2023
It seemed like everyone, especially Williams, was having a good time.
Here is more from Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon during a recent episode of The Hoop Collective with Brian Windhorst (via ESPN):
Bontemps: It was one of the weirder things I’ve ever seen in an NBA game.
MacMahon: I could tell ya: A lot of people thought that was pretty funny. I’m just here to tell you: Some folks with the Jazz were not really [enjoying that].
Bontemps: Yeah, I heard the same …
MacMahon: And if you saw the footage, he was giving people courtside fives. There’s a genteleman who had his hat backwards who did not extend his hand for a five. That was a certain billionare by the name Ryan Smith. There were people with the Jazz who were not amused at that.
Perhaps the team was especially frustrated because the team was down by thirty points at the time of the incident, or they expected a certain level of professionalism from Williams.
Either way, this was a moment fans won’t forget any time soon.
