By Jonah Sharf
On March 4, 2012, New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams dropped a career high and Nets franchise high 57 points in a 104-101 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. In his prime, Williams was considered one of the best point guards in the NBA, often compared with fellow point guard Chris Paul. Williams and Paul were compared for large chunks of their career, from when they were drafted in 2005 — Williams was the number three pick and Paul was the number four pick — up until after his first two seasons with the Nets. Through his age-28 season, Williams averaged an impressive 17.8 points per game and 9 assists per game, but after that he averaged 13.1 points per game and 6 assists per game. He was never necessarily a bad player, but it was a steep drop-off from his Chris Paul-like production. Williams was a three-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA Second Team selection.