SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Jason Williams reads the first sentence of a fan letter and tosses it playfully into his locker. "That's not too fun, not when there's no pictures in there," he says with an impish smile before heading to the court to practice 3-pointers next to a banner proclaiming: "Pistol Pete is alive!"

While the NBA and its fans have welcomed Williams with glee and awe, the rookie point guard doesn't take himself too seriously. He's just as willing to talk about his past problems with marijuana or his disregard for college as his flashy moves that evoke comparisons with Pete Maravich.

There are the behind-the-back passes to himself. Alley-oops from midcourt. Between-the-legs, stutter-dribble moves that have frozen opponents such as Seattle's Gary Payton.

And, one of his favorites -- a move in which he jumps while dribbling, then scoots around a shocked defender who has gone up to block a shot.

"It's always been a part of my game. I grew up playing that way," Williams says. "I'm not going to change it now just because I'm here."

IN A RECENT GAME IN Vancouver, he stripped the ball from Mike Bibby -- the only point guard taken before him in the draft last summer -- and, while lying on the court, flipped the ball backward over his shoulder to a teammate.

"Sometimes you need instant replay to see what he did," teammate Jon Barry says. "He might score four points, but the four points he scored may have been the most unbelievable plays you ever saw."

Teammates on the bench openly cheer Williams' sleight of hand. Fellow Kings rookie Jerome James has a particular appreciation for such moves because he played with the Harlem Globetrotters last fall.

"He'd be a natural with the Trotters. His style would be perfect over there," James says. "He has such a vast artillery of weapons. We're hollering on the bench, saying, `Hey, did you see that?"'

The 23-year-old Williams grew up in West Virginia, as his twang attests, in an area that produced Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley, who starred in the NBA and later became the first white player on the Globetrotters.

THE AREA ALSO PRODUCED NFL offensive rookie of the year Randy Moss, a friend of Williams who also caught passes from him on the football team at Dupont High School in Belle. They also played hoops together.

The 6-foot-1 Williams, nicknamed White Chocolate and White Shadow, learned his moves on the playgrounds of Belle and in a high school gym to which his father, a retired state trooper, had the keys.

When he took his skills to college, Williams saw it as little more than a tryout for the pros. He committed to Providence but backed out when the Friars changed coaches, and played near home at Marshall for a season.

When Marshall coach Billy Donovan moved to Florida, Williams followed. He was leading the Gators in points, assists and steals before getting kicked off the team in February 1998 for twice testing positive for marijuana.

WILLIAMS, WHO WORKS WITH children's charities and wants to coach someday, says he'll never lie about getting caught smoking pot.

"I messed up, I'm human. I've just tried to put it behind me and tried to move on," he says. "If I am a coach one day, I'll tell them that's a mistake I made and I had to pay for it. I'm going to tell them they could pay an even steeper price."

Williams was drafted seventh overall by the Kings, whose recent draft selections of point guards Bobby Hurley and Tyus Edney turned out to be disappointing. Williams spent the summer in Orlando, staying with Nick Anderson and scrimmaging with other Magic players.

"The thing I did that a lot of people haven't done is get to know him. We sat down and he told me the whole story," Anderson says. "He's not a bad kid. That's what you find out when you get to know him. He made some mistakes, but he was determined to move on."

Williams says Anderson and Orlando point guard Penny Hardaway taught him about life in the NBA, especially the challenges he would face off the court.

"THEY TALKED ABOUT HOW TO PICK and choose my friends," Williams says. "I had already been in trouble, so I've got to stay out of trouble."

Williams, who has a dragon tattoo on his right arm and a panther on his left, has made an immediate impact in the NBA and helped turn the Kings into a playoff contender. He's among the rookie leaders in points and assists -- he averaged 14 points and six assists in his first 16 games -- and among the league leaders with nearly three steals a game.

As he's leading a fast break, he has an uncanny ability to predict how the play will develop.

"I see things happen before they happen," he explains. "I see a guy here not moving, and with two or three more dribbles I know where he's going to be."

Kings coach Rick Adelman has spent much of his time trying to tutor Williams on how best to use his flair. Barry also pulls Williams aside at times, such as in Monday night's game against Seattle.

IN THE FIRST QUARTER, WILLIAMS was leading a 3-on-1 break when he tried to spin a pass off his fingers. He lost control of the ball and crashed into a defender, drawing an offensive foul.

"He has to know when to use that. When you're up 20 points in the fourth quarter it's OK, but not in the first quarter of a game against a good team like Seattle," Barry says.

Portland's Damon Stoudamire, who had 15 points and five assists to Williams' 11 points and two assists in the Trail Blazers' 97-93 overtime win at Sacramento on Wednesday night, says Williams has to learn about strategy.

"One thing he might learn is that flashy isn't always effective,"

Stoudamire says. "Coming into the league, he might try to make an impression on everybody, and I'm not going to knock anybody for that. As he gets older, he might have the showmanship -- but not show it as much."

Adelman, who played with Maravich on the New Orleans Jazz in the mid-'70s, says Maravich was more of a shooter and scorer than Williams.

"The thing that's the same is their flair," Adelman says. "Jason can score five points and still have a tremendous impact on the game."

Williams was just 4 when Maravich retired in 1980 and not yet a teen-ager when he died of a heart attack at age 40 in 1988.

"It's a great compliment to be compared to a great player like that," Williams says. "Hopefully, one day there'll be somebody being compared to me."