Deron Williams’ game day probably felt familiar. On Monday night, he ate a pregame meal with his teammates, Mehmet Okur and Ronnie Price. Then he drove to the familiar, downtown Salt Lake City arena and walked inside through the same entrance he’d always used. Then came the departure from the norm: Williams walked past the Utah Jazz locker room, and took a courtside seat for the first time as a fan.
Williams, 35, has been retired from basketball for three years now. But while he still calls Utah home, he had been biding his time to make his return to place where he spent the best years of his All-Star career.