For the first four seasons of his career, Deron had established himself as one of the league's premier point guards.

Following his rookie year, D-Will ranked in the top three in the league in assists for each of his next three seasons. But it wasn't until year five, the 2009-2010 season, that D-Will was finally recognized as an NBA All-Star.

Kobe Bryant wondered aloud what took so long.

"It really makes no sense.It shouldn't be (his first time). It makes no sense. He should have been in for a while," Bryant said.

"He's one of the two best point guards in the world, period."

But Deron believes that not being selected for those first four seasons served a positive purpose.

"I think being overlooked and overshadowed helped me," he said during All-Star Weekend. "It made me work harder. It made me play harder and get better."



It was only fitting, however, that Deron's first All-Star appearance would come in his hometown of Dallas, Texas at the brand new, larger than life Cowboys Stadium. Entering the 2010 All-Star game, D-Will was on pace for another stellar season, averaging 18.6 points and 9.8 assists per game.

"To play at home in front of all my friends and family was great," he said. "This (playing an All-Star in his hometown area) is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It's a dream come true. It's something I've always wanted, and it's finally here.

"Hopefully I can move forward, and hopefully it's the first of many."

Deron finished his first All-Star game with 14 points, six assists and four steals, playing with the same intensity that makes him on the of the game's best at the point.

"I was having a lot of fun out there, really going after it,'' he said. "Some of these guys had been in this game five or six times, so they may approach it differently. I was in my first, playing hard, being home in front of my family and friends.

"This is what it's supposed to be about — putting on a show, having fun out there. It's a great first All-Star Game for me."

D-Will finished the 2009-2010 season in true All-Star form, averaging 11.6 assists and 18.7 points per game to lead the Jazz to a fourth playoff appearance in his five years in Utah. Once the Jazz reached the postseason, Deron turned it up a notch in their first round series against the Denver Nuggets.

He averaged 25.8 points and 11.3 assists per game as the Jazz ousted Denver in six games. The Jazz moved on to the Western Conference Semifinals and met with the eventual NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. D-Will did all he could, posting 22 points and nine assists per game, but the Jazz were knocked out in four.

With Carlos Boozer having departed the Jazz for Chicago via free agency, Deron picked up more of the scoring load in his sixth season in Utah. He earned his second straight All-Star nod by averaging a career-high 21.4 points per game in the first half of the season.

"The sky is the limit for him," Jason Kidd said. "He gets better each year. The biggest thing for him is trying to help his team win the championship, and that's easier said than done. Sometimes you just have to be patient. I think if he keeps working on his game, he's going to be the best."

But just three days after his second consecutive All-Star appearance, Deron's tenure in Utah came to an end.

ON TO NEW JERSEY

On February 23, 2011, the Jazz sent Deron to New Jersey in a multi-player trade. The move caught Deron off guard, but he was welcomed to his new home in New Jersey with open arms.

''Everything happens for a reason; I take everything in stride," Deron said after the trade. ''I had a great five and a half years in Salt Lake. The fans have always been great for me. I'm going to miss them."

For the Nets, the move was a clear sign that they were working to compete with the New York Knicks for supremacy in the New York market while piecing together a young team that should be playoff competitive for years to come.

'I'm excited because Deron Williams I feel is the best point guard in the NBA," Nets GM Billy King told the New York Times ''And when you want to try to win, you need a point guard and a center. I think we have two of the best."

Deron sees a bright future in New Jersey as long as the Nets continue to bring in the pieces to become a playoff contender again.

"I like to win. When I looked, (the Nets) weren't in the playoff picture. We were like nine games back. In Utah, we were in the eighth position. I was looking forward to a strong push," he said. "I'm not generally (a patient person), but I understand it's different this year. It's a young team, I talked to Coach Johnson and he told me not to get frustrated and I'm not frustrated."

Nets owner Mikhail Prohorov believes Deron is a superstar and informed D-Will that he plans to build a successful Nets franchise around him.

"That gets you excited," Williams said. "When your owner said he's going to spend the money and put people around you, that's definitely appealing.

"The future is bright here and that's what everybody is looking forward to so there's no reason to (push it)."

Deron spent most of the second half of the 2010-2011 season rehabbing a wrist injury suffered in Utah, but he did play in 12 games for New Jersey, showing what he is capable with 12.8 assists and 15 points per game.

TRENDSETTING ABROAD

Following the 2010-2011 season with an NBA lockout in full effect, Deron received an offer he could not refuse to set a trend among pro basketball players and head abroad for a new opportunity.

On July 15th, D-Will signed a contract with Turkish team Besiktas to play in Turkey during the lockout. The contract includes an out clause that allows Deron to return to the United States immediately upon the resolution of the lockout. D-Will said he'd been thinking about going overseas for the last two years as a lockout loomed.

"It will just be a great experience," he told ESPN's Chris Broussard. "How often am I going to get this chance to go live abroad in a great city and experience some things. My family is going to be there with me, so it's not like I'm going to be there by myself. I take it as an adventure. It's a way to stay in shape and play basketball."

Deron Williams is at the top of a point guard driven league in the NBA, a difference maker in the community, a trendsetter in taking the game overseas, an Olympic champion and a two-time NBA All-Star. Already one of the best of his generation, at 27 years of age, Deron is only just getting started.

"He will be the king of the world," Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said. "The first really global basketball player."