MINNEAPOLIS -- In the land of the NBA, where potent point guards roam, Kings rookie sensation Jason "Highlight" Williams has been tested early by some the league's premier playmakers.

In his first two weeks as a professional, he's held his own and even dazzled at times against the likes of Phoenix's Jason Kidd, Utah's John Stockton and Seattle's Gary Payton, a trio perennially mentioned as the game's best point guards.

Against such a battery, Williams thrived. Armed with an array of behind-the-back passes, no-look lobs and crossover fakes, his game is a TV highlight waiting to happen.

Indeed, few players have emerged as quickly as Williams, whose style, flair and on-court confidence have played an integral role in the Kings' quick start.

Still, Williams has gotten only a taste of what the NBA has to offer. Today begins his tour of a point guard's Murderer's Row, meeting Stephon Marbury and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first of five consecutive road games. Orlando and Penny Hardaway come Monday with Philadelphia's Allen Iverson on the menu Wednesday, Washington's Rod Strickland on Thursday and Dallas' Steve Nash on Saturday.

Despite the challenges these talented players represent, it can be said that none of them ever will have a grip on Williams like that of Keith Veney, a former teammate and something of a mentor at Marshall University.

"I raised that boy," Veney said from Landover, Md. "Don't call him J.W. Call him 'Duck.' That's the name I gave him. Have you ever seen that boy's feet? They are flat as can be."

Williams, who some compare to Pistol Pete Maravich, credits Veney for having exposed him to many of the tricks that now can be seen nightly on national sports shows.

"He taught me all of that stuff," Williams says. "I met him my freshman year at Marshall. Our personalities are kind of the same. He's always laughing. I'm always laughing. I learned a lot of that stuff from watching him play and playing against him. I've never beaten him one on one."

What? Could you repeat that?

"I've never beaten him one on one," Williams said again. "He was always killing me. He's my height, but strong. I've been close sometimes. I'm looking forward to this summer to try and get back at him."

Veney said Williams might as well concentrate on Marbury, Hardaway, Iverson and Strickland.

"He's never beaten me and he never will," Veney said. "Never in his life. We must have played 1,000 times. And I'm 1,000 and 0."

Said Williams, "It might be more than that."

Veney remembers his first encounter with Williams.

"We were both sitting out a season at Marshall," said Veney, who will visit Williams in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., this week. "I'm from the city and he's from West Virginia. He was quick and could handle the ball.

"So I would tell him to throw this in his game and try this. With him being the basketball junkie he is, he would try and do all the tricks I showed him. We played one on one all the time. In the summertime, he stayed with me and my wife. He slept on our couch. Then he came to Landover and we balled. He was the only white guy on the court. He was scared as hell. But after that, his game kind of took off."

Veney now watches Williams take off on ESPN's SportsCenter, and says, "Hey, I taught him that."

He said that last Wednesday when he saw Williams dribble past Payton, leaving the Sonics guard with only a failed attempt to trip him up by the three-point line, grasping for nothing but air while the rookie was going high off the glass over Seattle's 6-foot-9 Detlef Schrempf.

Even more impressive than Williams' crowd-pleasing crossover in Seattle was the sequence of plays that truly highlighted his abilities. Williams had come down with what has become an early-game trademark -- a pull-up, off-the-dribble three-pointer right in Payton's face.

Payton, one of the game's best defenders, two possessions later lured referee Dee Kantner into believing his flop actually was a charging foul by Williams. The call earned Kings coach Rick Adelman a technical foul, but Williams was far more composed.

Following a miss by Schrempf, Williams quickly advanced the ball down the right side of the floor. Payton confronted him near the three-point line and readied himself to challenge the pull-up three-pointer that burned him earlier.

Payton happened to be right in front of the Kings' bench when Williams raised his shoulders as if he were about to launch the jumper. Payton lunged at Williams, who deftly timed his left to right crossover dribble and left the all-star smiling in embarrassment.

"I had pulled up for that first three," Williams said after the Kings upset the unbeaten Sonics. "I figured (Payton) would try to stop it, so I hesitated a little bit and went around him. He was smiling. I just kept playing."

Williams didn't need to say anything. The Kings bench roared in mockery, and the Key Arena crowd was forced to respond with oohs and aahs.

The oohs and aahs, at home and on the road, have become commonplace for Williams and the Kings. In just a few months, the Kings have become one of the league's most exciting and entertaining teams, and the combination of Williams and Chris Webber is a major reason why.

Payton sees potential.

"He's going to take his lumps as a young boy just like me and everybody else does," Payton said of Williams. "But that's what you do. He just needs to keep doing what he's doing. He's got game and he's got a little funk in his game, so he just has to keep playing."

Williams said Payton, as he is known to do, talked throughout their meeting.

"I think everybody is going to be coming at me because I'm a rookie and getting a lot of attention," Williams said. "They are going to be trying to get in my head and stuff, but I just try and go out and play hard. Payton did it the most, without a doubt."

Williams giggled just thinking of Payton.

"But I think that makes the game fun," Williams said. "He's so competitive and I'm the same way. I'm not the type who is going to talk back. I'm just going to keep playing. Anyway, Webb was talking to him for me."

Webber said he normally does not talk to his opposition during games, either.

"I know Jason wants to express himself, but that wasn't the time to talk to Gary," Webber said. "So I wasn't going to let Gary talk to him and nobody say anything. We have to protect our rookie."

Adelman said Williams has a lot more to offer. He has not used his quickness and ballhandling ability very often to penetrate into the lane and wreak havoc on opposing defenses. He has been indecisive on the fast break at times moves too quickly on the pick-and-roll play.

Adelman is being patient, saying Williams has court vision exhibited only by Magic Johnson, Kidd and Stockton.

"I just try to tell him things he should be thinking about," the coach said. "He just needs to play. He's playing 40 minutes a night because we need him to play that much. Really, it's a bit unfair. He's being compared to a lot of different people, but he's got his own game."

Williams says the comparisons are nice, but he hopes one day, "young guys will be compared to me."