Suns coach Monty Williams thankful for rookie year with Knicks

NEW YORK — Suns coach Monty Williams enjoyed the time he spent Thanksgiving with his family and everyone else's on the team who made the trip to New York.

"It was great," Williams said. "As you can imagine, anytime you can get together safely. My family was here. It was cool for me to be able to meet friends and family of our players and talk about their lives and share backgrounds and that kind of thing."

Still, he had a job to do — get the team ready to face the Knicks.

"My family is wanting to go see stuff that I've seen for the past three decades," Williams said. "I'm like, 'You guys go. I got stuff to do.'"

The Suns were certainly ready as they handled the Knicks by 21 points Friday in extending their winning streak to 15 games.

"They just get you moving around," Knicks guard Kemba Walker said. "They play really smart basketball, move the ball really well, they play well together, and you could tell those guys really play for one another. They get great looks. Like I said, they really move the ball around and get the best shot.”

After winning Wednesday at Cleveland, Williams delivered a thankful message that seemed even more appropriate considering Thanksgiving was Thursday.

"I'm glad the players were able to just take a day (Thursday) and get away and I told them we all have to be grateful for what we get to do," Williams said. "You think about being in the NBA and get paid to coach and play basketball. It's kind of silly, but we get to do it and I think I lose sight of it at times. We talked about that after the Cleveland game about what we get to do and not what we have to do. Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on that."

Whenever Williams returns to New York, he is often asked about his rookie year playing for the Knicks. The Suns coach reflected on that 1994-95 season in which he played on a team that reached the NBA Finals the season before in losing to the Rockets in seven.

"That group, from Coach (Pat) Riley to Jeff Van Gundy, Patrick (Ewing), Doc (Rivers), Derek Harper, Anthony Mason, Herb Williams, they showed me and Charlie Ward and Doug Christie how to work," Williams said. "How to approach the game."

Williams continued by sharing the workload back in the day that isn't even a thought for a current NBA player.

"I came into the when you lifted for 45 minutes, Jeff Van Gundy would shoot with us for 45 minutes and then we had a three-hour and 15-minute practice," Williams said. "And we had one day off that year. So for me, it was like a test of my basketball manhood, but I had those guys teaching me how to eat. Talking to me about rest."

Williams experienced different forms of leadership from veteran teammates.

Charles Oakley led by example.

"He didn't sit me down and say, 'Do this', or, 'Do that,' " Williams said. "He just did it and you could learn by watching him."

Ewing spoke on it.

"Patrick would cuss you out if you didn't do it," Williams continued. "That was just the way it was."

Williams and Ward began a friendship as rookies that's grown into a special bond. Whenever they talk, the two take a journey back to their first year in New York.

"I wish I could've gone to a team where I could've played and just made mistakes and put up numbers and like, got paid, but I think that year set the tone for me being in the league as long as I have because it was such a cool environment, but it was tough," Williams said.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns coach Monty Williams thankful for rookie year with Knicks